The Spaniard defeated the Russian on Wednesday in three sets. He reversed a situation that was unfavorable to him in the third and final round.
It was the losers game, so to speak. Both defeated when they entered the Masters two days earlier – one by the German Alexander Zverev, the other by the Greek Stefanos Tsitispas – Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medevdev were looking for a win on Wednesday 13th November. With a common goal: to stay in the running for the semi-finals of the competition that brings together, in London, the eight best tennis players on the planet.
It was the Spaniard who won against the Russian, in three sets, including the first and last very hooked, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). Rafael Nadal has rallied a 5-1 in favor of his opponent in the third and final set.
Both players had few "benchmarks" in relation to each other before this match. Their roads had only crossed twice before. Rafael Nadal had won both times: the most recent, at the US Open, had seen him overcome his opponent after five sets.
Rafael Nadal arrived in London after a cut for an abdominal injury in early November: he had withdrawn before the semifinal of the Masters 1000 Paris-Bercy. After his defeat on Monday against Alexander Zverev, he had assured not to have any consequences of this injury: "The physical problem is absolutely no excuse. The only excuse is that I have not been good enough ".
For Rafael Nadal, this end-of-season tournament in London has a special character. Winner of 19 Grand Slam titles (the four major tournaments on the circuit), he has never been crowned at the Masters.
By the way, at the end of this week he could confirm or lose his place of world number one, resumed the Serbian Novak Djokovic just before the Masters. Everything will depend on the course of the latter in London and in particular the outcome of his match against Roger Federer on Thursday.
Daniil Medvedev (23) participates for the first time in his career at the Masters. This season, he was one of the best – if not the best – hard surface players.
Before the London meeting, he had chained the good results throughout the summer and part of the fall: six consecutive finals and three victories in tournaments (Cincinnati, Saint Petersburg, Shanghai) since early August.
It was just stopped at the end of October at the tournament of Paris-Bercy, by the French Jeremy Chardy in the second round.
In the same group, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev clash on Wednesday night. With at stake a first place to comfort / ensure for one of the two after their respective victories in the first match.
Eight players, two groups
The Masters brings together, until November 17 in London, the eight best players of the season. These are initially divided into two groups.
The group Björn Borg brings together Novak Djokovic (No. 2 worldwide), Roger Federer (No. 3), Dominic Thiem (No. 5) and Italian Matteo Berrettini (No. 8).
The group Andre Agassi meets the world No. 1, Rafael Nadal, and the three best representatives of the rising generation, Daniil Medvedev (No. 4 worldwide), Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 6) and the German Alexander Zverev (No. 7) ).
At the end of this group phase, the first two of each of these two groups will compete in the semi-finals crossed (the winner of one hen faces the second of the other).
