During Tuesday's marquee matchup at the Nitto ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal faced Dominic Thiem in what has been described as one of the best matches of 2020.
With both men having a 1-0 record in Group London 2020, the winner of this match was almost guaranteed a spot in the semifinals. After almost two and a half hours of thrilling match play, Thiem prevailed 7-6(7) 7-6(4) to remain perfect in the group stage.
Although Nadal lost after leading at certain points in the match, the Spaniard remained confident following the loss and was full of praise for Thiem.
"Well done to Dominic. He played an amazing match, and I played well too,” said Nadal after the match. “My feeling is not negative. I lost, but I had plenty of chances in the first set and then I was a break up in the second set… I'm happy with the way I played."
The World No.2 falls to 1-1 in the group stage, and next faces defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in a battle for second place. The Greek star defeated Andrey Rublev 6-1 4-6 7-6(6) to secure his first win of the tournament, and also holds a 1-1 record.
"I think my chances are bigger to have a very good result now than five days ago because the level of tennis, even if I lost today, for me is much higher," added Nadal.
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