2020 ATP Barcelona Open fantasy tennis: Djokovic and Nadal to face off again
FOR the second successive ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournament, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will face off in the final. The pair continue their rich rivalry which has stepped up of late and will face off for a 57th time tomorrow.
Nadal reached the final courtesy of a tight straight sets win over third seed and clay court nemesis, Dominic Thiem. The Austrian won here last year after defeating Nadal in the run to the title, but it was Nadal who got up on this occasion, knocking out Thiem 7-6 7-6 in a flat two hours. It was also the second successive semi-final clash between the pair, with Nadal also getting up in their match at Monte Carlo last week.
Djokovic had a real fight on his hands with yet another three-set contest, this time against Greek star, Stefanos Tsitsipas. The up and coming talent won the first set 6-4 to show Djokovic he meant business in the huge semi-final clash. Everyone in the crowd knew the world number one would hit back, and hit back he did, breaking early in the second set, and while he could not completely shake off Tsitsipas due to the world number six’s consistency, the early break was enough to level the match at a set apiece.
The pair continued to go toe-to-toe for the remainder of the match as the third set decider ticked over the two-and-a-half-hour mark. Everyone was on the edge of their seats at 4-4, and they got a swift reminder of what Djokovic was capable of, hitting three consecutive winners to force two break points and then taking it with the second. His serve was never in question and the Serbian star held firm to serve out the match and move into the final tomorrow.
Djokovic will need to turn around the Monte Carlo result where he suffered a three-set defeat at the hands of Nadal, the best clay courter in the world. The Spanish world number two will be hard to beat when he is on, but Djokovic has the tools to beat him at his best, and the match shapes as an absolute ripping contest for anyone watching.
SEMI FINALS RESULTS:
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeated [6] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 4-6 6-4 6-4
[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) defeated [3] Dominic Thiem (AUT) 7-6 7-6
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