London: Thiem earned a crucial victory at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday, as he overcame Rafael Nadal 7-6(7), 7-6(4) at The O2 in London.In a meeting between the top two players in Group London 2020, Thiem saved two set points in a marathon 72-minute opener and held his nerve after failing to convert three consecutive match points at 5-4 in the second set. With his seventh win in nine matches against Top 10 players this year, Thiem is now 2-0 in round robin play and has boosted his chances of reaching the semi-finals in London for the second straight year.
Last year’s runner-up stepped inside the baseline and took his groundstrokes early to push Nadal behind the baseline and earn back-to-back wins against the World No. 2 for the first time. Five of the past six sets between Thiem and Nadal have required tie-breaks and the Austrian has won them all. In the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, Thiem outlasted Nadal 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(6).
‘I think it was a great match from the first to the last point,’ said Thiem in an on-court interview. ‘I was pretty lucky to get that first set. I was 2/5 down in the tie-break. Against Rafa, it is nice to win the first set but he is still there 100 per cent from the first to the last point. I knew that maybe I had a slight advantage when I won the first set, but I still had to stay super focussed.’