Soccer picks Ziccipas hit Nadal in the middle of Madrid

Rafael Nadal missed the opportunity to play in his Masters Series 50 tournament final in front of his native audience. The glue king dropped to the Madrid semifinals after losing 4:6, 6:2, 3:6 to Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will argue for the title in the Spanish capital with Novak Djokovic.

The 20-year-old Greek showed excellent tennis and did not lose concentration at the most crucial moments. He continues his strong streak after lifting the title at Estoril last week. Nadal drops before the final according soccertipswinner in the third consecutive tournament after Monte Carlo and Barcelona.




In the past three games, Tsitsipas had not won a set against Nadal, but this time he was ready for the challenge. He made a breakthrough in the opening game, but immediately fell behind with 0:40 on his own service and Matador quickly equalized. Both saved points for a breakthrough in subsequent games, and long hits did not carry Nadal`s expected advantage.
At 4:4, Tsitsipas got two more chances and took advantage of the second to break through again. However, Rafa took three straight points after 0:30 in the next game and had a chance to restore the status quo. At that moment, Tsitsipas did not hesitate to go online twice, which brought him success - 6:4.


Nadal took the necessary measures, became more aggressive and in the second set was more than convincing in his submission. He broke for 4:2 and without any problems closed the set.
At the beginning of the decisive third part, the Spaniard had the upper hand, but did not use it. Tsitsipas`s service got him out of a difficult situation, and then Nadal showed the character to take the lead with 2:1. In the fifth game, the Glue King unexpectedly cracked and allowed his opponent to reach break points. The Greeks did not need a second invitation and came close to their first victory against Nadal.
To make it a fact, the young man broke through once more and pulled with 5:2. Nadal did not surrender and in the next game his qualitative retours proved irresistible to Tsitsipas. However, World 8 felt very comfortable when welcomed and pressed Nadal. The dramatic game went through three reflected Rafa matches, but from the fourth attempt, Tsitsipas managed to achieve such a valuable victory.


`I knew what I had to do, but it just didn`t work out, ` was laconic after the defeat of Nadal, who has 8 finals in Madrid.
`I have to play the same way against Djokovic. He`s in great shape, but I`m ready. Of course, it won`t be easy, but I hope to win, ` Tsitsipas said.

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