Rafael Nadal back from the brink against Daniil Medvedev for ATP Finals lifeline

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Joe Krishnan13 November 2019

Rafael Nadal produced a special comeback to defeat Daniil Medvedev and stay in contention to qualify for the ATP Finals last four.

The world number one looked down and out at 1-5 and a match point down in the final set, but dug deep to break back against Medvedev twice in succession before edging a dramatic final-set tie-break to clinch a stunning 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 success in another thrilling contest.

Medvedev was out for revenge after their epic US Open final which lasted nearly five hours and it showed early on as he kept pace with the world's top-ranked player.

After 12 consecutive holds in the first, Medvedev found the edge, especially on serve, with seven aces and love holds aplenty, and took charge of first-set tie-break 7-3 with a string of incredible groundstrokes. It seemed he was determined to make things right after such a narrow defeat in September.

Nadal was angry, mostly with himself, and responded almost immediately by breaking Medvedev in the first game of the second set and appeared keen not to waste any more energy than needed, wrapping up the second set 6-3 in 40 minutes after breaking Medvedev for a second time.

The magician from Manacor would have felt confident about taking charge of this contest after seeing what happened in the second set, but Medvedev had other ideas.

The fourth seed started to show his tactical awareness by approaching the net when Nadal was deep in the corners to finish him off. That seemed to unsettle Nadal, who found himself in a spot of bother after being broken in the first game of the third.

He had a chance to hit back immediately with two break points but Medvedev regrouped and won four straight points to lock down the break before ​his net approaches proved decisive, especially when Nadal was serving, and he collected a double break against a weary Spaniard.

AFP via Getty Images

Rarely do players get a chance to register a bagel against Nadal, but Medvedev could've done it. A break point would have surely ended any chance of a Nadal fightback, but he dug deep to deny the Russian to finally get on the board after 33 minutes.

He survived a match point on his own serve by clinging on at 5-2. And little did he know, that would prove to be the turning point.

Nadal came storming back, taking the next break away from Medvedev, who was looking frustrated and helpless as the 19-time Grand Slam winner went through the gears.

AP

He kept his cool to force a final set tiebreak and the tension was palpable as rallies kept going and going. But Nadal's class shone through and he had two match points when Medvedev failed to land a big forehand.

​Another miss from the Russian lead to a throwaway challenge from Nadal, and that was that by millimetres. A fightback worthy of the man himself. He never accepted he was beaten as he rose from the dead to keep his spot in the competition... for now at least.

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