H2H: Rafael Nadal vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas - Prediction (ATP London

Nadal – Tsitsipas. Preview and players comparison.

While Rafael Nadal must win his third round-robin match on Friday to have a chance of qualifying for semifinal, Stefanos Tsitsipas has already secured his progression to the next stage of ATP World Tour Finals after scoring straight-set wins over the in-form Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Alexander Zverev.

Giving up is not in Rafael Nadal’s DNA, and he once again showed why he is (arguably) the toughest competitor in all of sport with a stunning three-set comeback win over Daniil Medvedev in a must-win round-robin match on Wednesday. Playing on his least preferred surface and carrying an abdominal injury, Rafael Nadal fought back from a set down and later recovered from 1-5 down in the deciding set to overcome arguably the top performer of the season half of 2019 season, Daniil Medvedev (RN won 6-7 6-3 7-6).

“I have had a lot of years on the tour, I love what I am doing, I love this sport, I love playing this amazing stadiums, in front of you, that is the biggest motivation. It’s impossible not to fight with all these people supporting you,” said Rafael Nadal after completing a miraculous comeback.

The Spaniard had two objectives coming into this week, and he already achieved one of them as Novak Djokovic’s exit from the group stages secured the year-end #1 ranking for world #1 Rafael Nadal. The second objective is to win the ATP World Tour Finals, something that the 19-time slam champion has never done so far in his hugely successful career. Rafael Nadal’s most recent campaign in the year-end championships ended in the group stage of the 2017 edition.

ATP World Tour Finals debutant, Stefanos Tsitsipas finished his 2018 season by winning the biggest title of his career in the ATP Next Gen Finals. He will now look to become the only player in this edition of ATP World Tour Finals to reach the semifinal with a perfect group stage record.

“I am aware that he’s [Nadal] a difficult opponent to face. I’m sure this match is going to mean a lot to him for a chance for him to make it to the semi-finals. So I’m going to give it my all. I’m going to try to give my soul, and I think it’s also a very good challenge for me in order to prepare for more difficult matches in the semi-finals and the finals, potentially, so this match is going to give me a lot. It’s going to educate me, and I’m going to try to absorb as much as I can from that,” said Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the two players to have registered at least one win against each of the Big Three players so far in 2019, and impressively, he managed to defeat Rafael Nadal on his favorite surface (SF of Madrid Masters). Considering the playing conditions in London and the current form, this is the Greek youngster’s opportunity to win and bridge down the gap in the H2H series (1-4).