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Ruthless Rafa and a NowGen battle: ATP Finals Day 1 key takeaways

By Brandon Daniels

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his victory over Andrey Rublev of Russia during Day 1 of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena on November 15, 2020 in London, England.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his victory over Andrey Rublev of Russia during Day 1 of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena on November 15, 2020 in London, England. /
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Thiem smelling blood as he puts together a strong start to a possible first title

Dominic Thiem needed three sets in his ATP Finals opener but fought brilliantly, overcoming Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3. The pair began the match with 12 consecutive holds of serve that featured just three break points in that time span (all for Thiem). The US Open champion failed to convert any of his chances but backed that up by not allowing Tsitsipas to deuce on any of his service games except for one (serving at 1-2). After losing 5 of the first 8 points of the first-set tiebreak, Thiem took the final four points to claim the first set. It was shaping up to be a great match.

It was clear that, despite the loss of the first set, Tsitsipas was ready to battle out the rest of the match. After two consecutive holds to begin the second set, Tsitsipas finally broke through Thiem’s serve and broke for 2-1. After holding at deuce in the very next game, neither returner got within 40-15 on the other’s serve, with Tsitsipas ultimately holding out for a 6-4 second set win.

Thiem has claimed the title as one of the hardest players to finish off given his unrelenting offensive firepower on hard courts; he certainly proved that here against Tsitsipas. He raced to a 3-0 start in the deciding set, bookending a quick break of serve with two holds at 15 and love, respectively. The turning point in the set came with Theim up 3-1. After saving a break point, the two engaged in a six deuce game with Thiem holding the ad in all six. He finally converted and avoided the opportunity for his opponent to get back on serve. Four holds followed with Thiem clinching the victory on his second match point.

"“I experienced in the past four years how important it is to have a good start in this tournament, to ideally win the first match,” Thiem said. “I am very happy that I did it.”"

It certainly is important to get off to a good start. Thiem failed to win his opener in his first four attempts at the ATP Finals (2016-2018) and failed to get out of the group stage as a result. His first opening match win was last year ( a 7-5 7-5 win over Federer) and it propelled him past the group stage and into the title match.

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Tomorrow’s matches will feature World No. 1 Novak Djokovic taking on Diego Schwartzman, followed by a Paris Masters finals rematch between Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev.

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