We all know that game gets better and tougher as the opponents reach the final. It was indeed the most-awaited sporting carnival between Rafael Nadal and Stephanos Tsitsipas who locked horns in the Rogers Cup 2018, Nadal was so good enough during the game that the 19-year-old Tsitsipas was put in the back foot time and time again.
Not to forget the fact that Tsitsipas had an outstanding tour so far as he had come a long way to reach the final. He outclassed four Top 10 players (No. 2 Alex Zverev, No. 4 Kevin Anderson, No. 7 Dominic Thiem and No. 9 Novak Djokovic). He made every possible attempt to win points and showed some great character through and through.
In the final, it was a different story. Nadal got the better of Tsitsipas as he got the better of himself in the late service break and fought off a set point before finishing a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory at Aviva Centre. He deftly changed his first match point of the tiebreaker to claim his 5th ATP World Tour title of the season.
It was Rafael Nadal’s 33rd career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title and he became the fourth player to win 80th title.
Nadal admits that he wasn’t up to the mark but recalls that it was an important victory for him.”It was a very important victory for me, but when I was serving for the match I played a terrible game being honest,” Nadal told Sky Sports Arena.
“I played that kind of game that you don’t want to play when you are serving for the match. I got a little bit nervous but that’s part of our sport too. I stayed positive, kept fighting, and the match became a little more ugly after that.”
Last but not the least, Nadal immensely praised his opponent, adding, “He’s a great player and he has great potential. He’s brave, he’s young and he’s got the right energy so he has a great future.”
