Rafael Nadal kept alive his hopes of winning the year-ending ATP Finals for the first time as he beat Greek defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 4-6 6-2 on Friday (NZ time).
The last round-robin match in the London Group was a straight knockout with both men having lost to Dominic Thiem and beaten Andrey Rublev earlier in the week.
But it was Spaniard Nadal who always appeared the likely winner despite a lapse which allowed Tsitsipas to extend the contest into a decider at a near-deserted O2 Arena.
After a flurry of service breaks at the start of the third set, the 34-year-old Nadal pulled away to reach the semi-finals for the first time in five years.
As group runner-up behind Thiem, he will face Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final with the Russian assured of top spot in the Tokyo Group.
"In general this was a very positive match for me," says Nadal.
Reuters
