Rafael Nadal Celebrates 80th ATP Championship in Toronto
Rafael Nadal competed in Toronto for the first time in eight years in 2018. The Spaniard qualified as the top seed and won five races to claim his fourth Canadian Masters crown, his first. Since 2013, Nadal met young shooter Stefanos Tsitsipas in a title clash and delivered a 6-2, 7-6 victory.
The Greek player beat four of the top 10 players to claim the title. and became the youngest Masters 1000 finalist since Novak Djokovic in Miami in 2007 and faced Rafa on his 20th birthday! Nadal is reluctant to give Stefanos a birthday present.
The Spaniard picked up his 40th of 43 competitive wins that year and was a huge success. Rafa became the fourth player in the Open era to win 80 ATP titles, joining Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Roger Federer. ! Tsitsipas defended matchpoints with Alexander Zverev and Kevin Anderson, clashing with Rafael Nadal for the second game in the final. After Barcelona at the beginning of that year
The Greeks pulled the brakes back in the second set and took a point in the 12th game.Rafa lost a bit of ground during that time. but declined before closing the deal during the tie-break and avoiding the referee.The Spaniard took the breaker 7-4 to win his 19th ATP title in hard. And for the first time since the 2017 US Open.
It was a superb performance from Nadal to 6-2, 5-4, cruising through his serve game and dominating with a forehand to gain an advantage off the baseline. Rafa finished the match with 27 wins and 20 missed errors, despite the shaky closing period.
At the same time, Tsitsipas scored 15 straight and made 25 mistakes. Nothing could separate them at the shortest four strokes. Rafa made significant gaps in the more challenging rhythms from five to eight and those that reached the ninth.
Nadal used his experience and started against the Masters 1000 finalist for the first time. The Spaniard dominated the serve game and used his chance to make a 6-2 comeback in just 34 minutes.
Rafael Nadal defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Toronto 2018 Finals.
Rafa lost just one point from four service games.
meanwhile Stefanos was far from that moment. by serving under 50% and losing twice The Spaniard first blooded in game three. This gave the third breakpoint an early lead in the game. The Greek made the wrong pass in Game 5 and put his opponents 4-1 ahead after 22 minutes.
The dominant forehand winner pushed Nadal to a 5-1 lead and the opening set was in his hands after dominating the game in the eighth. Rafa destroyed the youngster in the first game of the second set. Both played well after scoring their first goal in the next eight games. Leaving Nadal at the top at 5-4, Stefanos raised his bar against the opening set.
He was there to challenge Rafa with aggressive and balanced tennis. which led him to the final The problem is, he’s only received three return points since the start of the match. And no one can expect much from him in game ten either.
Rafa suddenly loses momentum and collapses in the 30’s. Missed the chance to close the deal and had to keep the score at 5-6! The Spaniard removed it after a lucky net to set up a tie-break where he was the clear favorite.
Tsitsipas had a brief break early on but Nadal cleared the deficit after a big Greek mistake in the fourth spot. The serve-winner moved Rafa up to a 4-3 lead before a short break. Importantly, when Stefanos shoots forehand.
Another poor forehand at the 20-year-old gave Nadal the championship. He hit the crosscourt winner with a forehand on the 11th for 7-4 and celebrated the title..
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