‘Rafael Nadal almost won the title in 2020,’ says Carlos Moya
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Rafael Nadal has won almost every notable title in our sport. The Spaniard is missing the ATP Finals trophy, chasing it since 2006 but never going all the way. Rafa lost the finals in London in 2010 and 2013 to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, with a couple more semi-final appearances.
Nadal has qualified for the ATP Finals for the 17th time and will debut in Turin in November. Speaking about Rafa’s ATP Finals journey, his coach Carlos Moya stated he was close to the title in 2020, feeling well on the court and serving for the victory against Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final.
Rafa led 6-3, 5-4 against Daniil and had a chance to seal the deal on his serve in game ten. Instead, Medvedev broke back and scored a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory in two hours and 35 minutes for a place in the title clash! Daniil fired 42 winners and 29 unforced errors, leaving Rafa on a 22-30 ratio.
The Russian forged the advantage in the most advanced rallies and saved his best tennis for the last four games to remain on the title course. Nadal fended off three break points in the opener’s third game to avoid an early setback.
Daniil locked the result for the third time in game six, doing his best to remain in touch with the Spaniard from the baseline. Medvedev lost ground at 3-4 and sprayed a forehand error to suffer a break at love. Rafa gained a boost and secured the set on his serve in the next one.
Daniil was the more aggressive player in set number two, hitting 21 winners and ten unforced errors and opening a 4-1 gap. The younger rival won 12 of the opening 13 points and secured a break in game two after the Spaniard’s double fault.
Carlos Moya shared thoughts about Rafael Nadal’s ATP Finals run.
Medvedev landed an ace in game five and created a break chance in the next one that could have sent him further ahead. Nadal saved it and pulled the break back with a forehand winner in game seven to reduce the deficit.
Rafa held at 15 to level the score at 4-4 and delivered…
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Source : tennisworldusa
