Rafael Nadal vs. Dominic Thiem 11/17/20 - ATP World Tour Finals Men Singles Picks & Predictions
Last Updated: 11/16/2020 at 2:59 AM ET
At the 2020 ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal is set to play against Dominic Thiem from Austria.
Rafael Nadal enters this match having won his opening match in straight sets against Andrey Rublev from Russia. It was a strong performance by Rafa as he controlled the match with his serving. During the win, Rafael Nadal won 78% of his service points which allowed him to win all of his service games. Rafa also won 2 return games to win the match with some ease. Nadal has looked very strong in recent months winning the French Open and making the semifinals of the Paris Masters. That being said, this is expected to challenge Rafa as he is playing an elite player in Dominic Thiem.
On the other side of the coin, Dominic Thiem also won his opening fixture at the ATP Finals where he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in 3 sets. It was a close match but Thiem showed his class in the final set which allowed him to run away with the match. During the victory, Dominic Thiem won 94% of his service games, 1 return game, and 1 tiebreaker. Thiem won the US Open this season and is looking very strong as he enters this tournament. Thiem made the final of the ATP Finals last season so he will be hoping to improve on that performance this time around.
Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal have played each other 14 times in the past with Nadal winning on 9 occasions while Thiem has won 5 times. The most recent match between these two players was earlier in the season at the Australian Open where Dominic Thiem won in 4 sets.
Looking at this match, I am going to pick Dominic Thiem to win this match. It's always hard to bet against Rafa but Thiem has been at a different level this season and I see the Austrian having the physical advantage over the Spaniard. I see Thiem winning in 3 sets.
