Nitto ATP Finals, London

[MargaretMcAleer]

I think if he beats Rafa, I'd like to see Thiem reach the final, I think they'd have a great match, and it would be more interesting. If Rafa wins tomorrow, I don't mind who he faces in the final, they'll both be favourite ahead of him...

Anyone but Thiem....I still dont think we have seen the best of Novak.....we shall see.

 

[Kieran]

Anyone but Thiem....I still dont think we have seen the best of Novak.....we shall see.

Well, Novak handled himself today, winning the big points, but if Rafa makes the final I hope only one thing the other match is longwinded.

I see the schedule is released and Google was wrong:

2pm local time:

Novak v Thiem

8pm:

Rafa v Med

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Well, Novak handled himself today, winning the big points, but if Rafa makes the final I hope only one thing the other match is longwinded.

I see the schedule is released and Google was wrong:

2pm local time:

Novak v Thiem

8pm:

Rafa v Med

Evening match is better for me to watch Rafa/Med

 

[Moxie]

I think if he beats Rafa, I'd like to see Thiem reach the final, I think they'd have a great match, and it would be more interesting. If Rafa wins tomorrow, I don't mind who he faces in the final, they'll both be favourite ahead of him...

Djokovic is always willing to play some possum and then step up his game. But there are weird politics again in the background these days, so who knows the level of his distraction. If he faces Rafa in the F, he'll still have that ugly taste of that RG final in his mouth, anyway. And Thiem got beat by Tsitsipas last year here, when he was the in-form player, so neither one is "all-that," either.

Medvedev played aggressively to shorten points today, in a way that was rather out of his comfort zone, and it served him well. But he had nothing to lose, and he was playing Schwartzman, not the heavy hitter that Rafa is. I expect he'll retreat more to old patterns tomorrow.

 

[Kieran]

I think Rafa hadn’t been hitting deep enough yet, he’s going to give players something to attack if he doesn’t get it a bit flatter - but he didn’t play great in Paris until the final so maybe he’s got some more in the tank..

 

[Moxie]

I think Rafa hadn’t been hitting deep enough yet, he’s going to give players something to attack if he doesn’t get it a bit flatter - but he didn’t play great in Paris until the final so maybe he’s got some more in the tank..

I thought he was hitting pretty deep...he certainly can't be accused of hitting too short as a rule here. If the court is taking the spin and he's getting some bounce on it, he'll try for that. But Medvedev is tall, and that may not work. Flatter may be the way forward.

 

[rafanoy1992]

Both semi-final matches will be very interesting to watch and hopefully they both live up to the hype!

For the Medvedev-Nadal match, for me personally, it comes down to "mental" approach at least on Medvedev's side. He is playing very well right now, he has won 8 matches in a row and 8 sets in a row. He is playing both aggressively and tremendous defense! He has the tools to beat Nadal especially on an indoor hardcourt, but the main question for him is can he finish the job? Last year, he was up 5-1 and had match point on Nadal's serve and he mentally "choked" away the match. You know he is definitely thinking about that loss. This is a great opportunity for Medvedev to exercise those mental demons against Nadal.

As for Nadal, just to continue to serve well and keep being aggressive especially on the backhand side. Just like the match-up against Tsitsipas, he does not mind this match-up against Medvedev because he can use slice and net approach to throw Medvedev off his rhythm. The one important shot that Nadal has to do well tomorrow night is his return of serve. Unlike Tsitsipas, Medvedev can get "hot" on his own serve meaning he can finish his service games in a minute. And if you know Nadal, if he can not feel his return of serve shot, he gets nervous and tentative. When he gets nervous and tentative, then he shanks his forehand and hit his forehand way short. Nadal has to put the ball in play or else Medvedev will beat him maybe in two sets.

All in all, I am excited for this particular match! I hope it is a fun match and may the best player wins! Vamos!

 

[Jelenafan]

Rooting for the rematch of Team Theim and Rafa.

Theim should be motivated to beat Novak here, in fact I expect Theim to be free flowing and relaxed; and as wondrous a counterpuncher as The grumpy awoken Russian ( though picturing him in a onesie as Moxie remarked is a bridge too far) can be, he’s not quite yet at Novak level versus Rafa

 

[kskate2]

Only one BP so far and Domi takes it. Will serve for the first set 6-5

 

[kskate2]

First blood to Domi 7-5

 

[Moxie]

Tight first set, as expected, and Thiem takes it.

 

[tented]

Tight first set, as expected, and Thiem takes it.

I missed it, but I’m happy about the outcome. Now we’ll see if Thiem can close this in straights.

 

[Moxie]

Thiem really blew his break chance there and handed that game back to Novak with 3 poor points, just when Djokovic was getting grumpy.

 

[Moxie]

Thiem escapes a threat to his serve with a stinger of a winner there.

 

[kskate2]

Thiem really blew his break chance there and handed that game back to Novak with 3 poor points, just when Djokovic was getting grumpy.

We'll see if it costs him this match, but he is absolutely throwing down some haymakers.

 

[tented]

Tiebreak. Who wins it? Yesterday I heard Novak has an incredible record in tiebreaks this year.

 

[kskate2]

Tiebreak. Who wins it?

My bet is Domi

 

[Moxie]

Tiebreak. Who wins it? Yesterday I heard Novak has an incredible record in tiebreaks this year.

I think he's only lost one out of 14 or so.

 

[tented]

My bet is Domi

Novak up a mini break, but it ain’t over.

EDIT: Back on serve at 4-4

 

[kskate2]

MP