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Rafa Nadal, Tennis News

‘Rafael Nadal had a great chance of winning the ATP Finals,’ bemoans Carlos Moya


Carlos Moya believes Rafael Nadal had a great chance of winning the ATP Finals this year but he struggled in the big moments.

Nadal lost to both Dominic Thiem (in the round robins stage) and Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals despite playing some superb tennis in London.

For coach Moya, though, he lost out because he was unable to win the pivotal points like he usually does.

“The ATP Finals was a pity, as I think Rafa had chances of reaching the final and battling for the title,” Moya said.

“Those tense moments usually work in his favour, but that wasn’t the case against Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem.

“Things are developing quickly on such a fast court like in London, and two or three key moments will decide the winner among the top-ranked rivals.

“You have to stay focused and grab those crucial points, as they are likely to determine who takes the victory home.

“Usually, Rafa solves this type of situation in his favour, but we have to praise Thiem and Medvedev, whom both played on a high level when it mattered the most.

“They won the crucial points against Rafa and came as deserved winners.”


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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.