Rafael Nadal meets Daniil Medvedev in the first match on Wednesday at the ATP Finals 2019 in what will be a clash between two players who got their respective campaigns off to a losing start.
Nadal's abdominal strain, that necessitated his withdrawal from the Paris Masters, had put a doubt over his participation at the season finale. Determined as he is, the 19-time Grand Slam champion gave it a go but his performance against the defending champion Alexander Zverev made it obvious that he still hadn't reached peak fitness.
Considering his discomfort on indoor hardcourts, a painful ordeal for Nadal ended in a 2-6, 4-6 loss to the German.
However, it was Medvedev's defeat to fellow NextGen ace Stefanos Tsitsipas that was even more surprising. The Russian was a pale shadow of the player who had dominated the summer hardcourt season and won three titles from six consecutive finals. His lack of sharpness and his passivity against a player he had got the better of on five previous occasions raised a lot of questions about his form.
Considering that he was one of the pre-tournament favourites, the 6-7(5), 4-6 loss came as quite the shock.
It was definitely a jolt for the Cincinnati and Shanghai Masters winner and Medvedev would be eager to rectify what went wrong. However, squaring off against Nadal is never an easy task and the Russian would be well aware of that fact, having lost to the Spaniard twice this year, the latest of which was a five-set defeat at the US Open final.
Having said that, there cannot be a better time for Medvedev to open his account against the southpaw. With Nadal struggling with his rhythm and range, the indoor hardcourts of the O2 Arena might just be the perfect place for Medvedev to go full throttle and record his first-ever win over the two-time ATP Finals runner-up.
Here are all the details you need to know about the Nitto ATP Finals 2019
Tournament Name: Nitto ATP World Tour Finals 2019
Date: 10 November - 17 November 2019
Category: ATP Finals
Location: London, United Kingdom
Venue: The O2 Arena
Prize Money: US$9,000,000
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Schedule: (1) Rafael Nadal vs (4) Daniil Medvedev on Centre Court at 7:30 pm IST on 13th November 2019
Where to watch Nitto ATP Finals 2019 in India
The Nitto ATP Finals 2019 will be telecast on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD.
Live stream details for Nitto ATP Finals 2019
Nitto ATP Finals 2019 live stream is available on Tennis TV (a subscription is needed for the service).
Sony Liv will also be broadcasting the matches.
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