World number two Rafael Nadal and the third-ranked Dominic Thiem will come face to face in their respective second group matches of the 2020 ATP Finals. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17 and will begin at 2 pm local time (9 am Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Rafael Nadal v Dominic Thiem match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Rafael Nadal v Dominic Thiem Head to Head
In the 14 matches these two players have featured in so far, Nadal leads 9-5. 12 of these 14 matches have come on clay, while on hard courts, the match-up is tied at 1-1.
Their most recent outing came at the Australian Open where Thiem needed four sets and three tie-breakers to get past Nadal. Their only other match on hard courts came at the 2018 US Open, again at the quarterfinal stage like the Australian Open and Nadal had needed five sets to win.
Also Read:
Nadal Out-Thinks Rublev in Opener
The Spanish world number two started off as a favourite against Andrey Rublev in his opening match but given his record indoors and the fact his opponent was coming off five titles this year it looked like the match could have gone the distance.
It turns out that Nadal fans didn’t have to worry too much about his chances as the clinical French Open winner completed a facile 6-3, 6-4 victory over his Russian opponent to bag the crucial points for the sterner tests ahead.
In a match lasting just 77 minutes, Nadal helped himself to three breaks of serve but more vitally never came close to losing his serve to Rublev all match. And while Nadal refused to accept it was a perfectly-played match, he did say his good serving, strong returning and smart tactics combined to help him usurp the Russian.
Nadal, who has never won the ATP Finals in his career before this, would hope he can shake off his under-par showing at the Paris Masters where he needed two three-setters to reach the semifinal before losing to Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
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Thiem Extracts Revenge against Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the defending champion at this ATP Finals, having won the title last year by beating Thiem. And this time around it was Thiem’s turn to get himself the win to kick-start the tournament in a group which has three tough opponents.
And it wasn’t easy going either for Thiem, who needed two hours and 17 minutes in his opening victory over the Greek. The quicker conditions meant there weren’t too many breaks of serve with both, Thiem and Tsitsipas helping them to one apiece.
What that meant was it was Thiem’s gritty effort in the first set tie-breaker that made all the difference. The Austrian fell 1-4 behind in it but Tsitsipas was unable to take advantage of that scoreline as Thiem clawed back to level things off at 5-5 before winning it 7-5.
A break in the third game of the second set levelled things off for Tsitsipas before Thiem broke in the very second game of the third set, thwarted a break-point soon after before completing the victory. Now comes a more difficult test for the Austrian on a surface they have never played before on.
Nadal v Thiem Prediction and Tip
While Nadal was more comprehensive in his win against Rublev, Thiem’s victory against Tsitsipas should give him a lot more confidence given the pedigree of the opposition. Nadal still starts a favourite at 4/7 which is interestingly the same odds we get for Thiem to win a set. A risk-free bet if you go for both those ones, and a chance to win big if Nadal wins in three!
Tip: Thiem to win a set – Yes: 4/7 (bet365)
The 2020 ATP Finals will be played from November 15 to November 22. You can watch & bet on the ATP Finals here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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