Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2019. Today we feature Rafael Nadal vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, following his second consecutive loss to Rafael Nadal last year, had a plan, or at least the makings of a plan, on how to beat the Spaniard.

At the Rogers Cup in Toronto, the 19-year-old Greek had become the youngest player to beat four Top 10 players at an event since the ATP Tour began in 1990. But his streak stopped against Nadal, who spoiled Tsitsipas’ 20^th birthday by winning his 33^rd ATP Masters 1000 title.

“Bust my ass more on the court. Work more hours and become stronger and a more solid baseliner. And withstand pressures, physical pressures on the court that, to him, just seem like nothing special. That’s the big difference between my game and his game,” Tsitsipas said.

In 2019, he wouldn’t have to wait long to see if the plan had worked.

Australian Open, SF, Nadal d. Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4, 6-0
The two renewed their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Tsitsipas had beaten Roger Federer in the fourth round and persevered in five sets against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals to make his first Grand Slam semi-final.

Nadal, meanwhile, had revamped his serve in the off-season and had yet to drop a set en route to the last four at the season’s first Slam. The offensive onslaught continued against Tsitsipas as Nadal rolled into his 25th major championship final by winning 80 per cent (49/61) of his service points and hitting 28 winners. Nadal also won the final nine games.

“I have been playing well during the whole event. Every match, more or less, I think I did a lot of things well. Tonight was another one. I played solid – with my serve, playing aggressive. Probably the backhand was better today than the rest of the days,” Nadal said.

A devastated Tsitsipas struggled to find reasons for optimism in their rivalry. “Honestly, I have no idea what I can take from that match,” he said. “It’s not that I was even close to [getting] something. I only got six games from that match.”

Mutua Madrid Open, SF, Tsitsipas d. Nadal 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
But the Greek would have his moment to cherish against Nadal on the most unlikeliest of surfaces: clay, where Nadal has won more titles than anyone in history. In Madrid, the Spaniard was still working his way into top form on the red dirt. Nadal had fallen in the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, both tournaments he has won 11 times.

Tsitsipas, however, was bloated with confidence, having won his third ATP Tour title – and first on clay – at the Millennium Estoril Open (d. Cuevas) the week earlier.

Nadal had held in 26 of his 27 service games to reach the Masters 1000 semi-final, but Tsitsipas broke three times in the opening set alone to grab the lead. Nadal increasingly ran around his backhand to see more forehands in the second set and rallied to force a decider.

But in the third set, Tsitsipas continued to attack and step into the court, and he broke for the third time in the set to beat Nadal for the first time. Overall, Tsitsipas broke the Spaniard six times and saved 11 of 16 break points faced.

“You cannot imagine the relief. It’s unbelievable. I don’t want to say this, but it almost felt like I lost hope at some point. [I lost] three in a row [against him],” Tsitsipas said. “I felt in Toronto when I played him I was very close, and this match gave me a bit of confidence [that] I can do it in the future, but then it was too much. [I’m] really happy that I overcame this and dealt with it mentally. Beating him on clay makes it even more special.”

Watch Highlights: Tsitsipas Stuns Nadal In Madrid SF

Internazionali BNL d’Italia, SF, Nadal d. Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4
In Rome, the surface was the same, but Tsitsipas stared down a much different Nadal. The Spaniard, after much speculation from fans and pundits, had found his top level on the clay. Before meeting Tsitsipas in another Masters 1000 semi-final, Nadal had won his past six sets 6-0, 6-1, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4, 6-0.

The Greek would do better than Nadal’s prior opponents in the Italian capital, but he couldn’t replicate his Madrid magic. In slower conditions, Nadal broke twice and saved both break points to make the Rome final, where he beat Djokovic for his 34^th Masters 1000 title.

Nitto ATP Finals, Group Andre Agassi, Nadal d. Tsitsipas 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5
The two had one final meeting in store for fans, and it might have been their best of the year. At the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, Nadal was fighting to have a chance at the semi-finals, and Tsitsipas was trying to end Group Andre Agassi play unbeaten.

Tsitsipas eked out a tight opening set by snagging a mini-break at 4/4 and closing out the set with an ace. But Nadal grew more comfortable in the second set and broke in the ninth game before serving it out. The Spaniard hit 11 winners to only six unforced errors and won 80 per cent of his service points (20/25) in the second set.

Tsitsipas ripped back momentum early in the third and would save four break points as The O2 crowd clamoured for more drama. But, serving at 6-5, he nudged a backhand volley wide, and Nadal broke for only the second time in the match.

The Spaniard didn’t face a single break point. Tsitsipas, however, would win Group Andre Agassi and go onto win the Nitto ATP Finals title, his biggest crown to date.

Nadal vs. Tsitsipas In 2019

Welcome to the 2019 ATP Awards, where we recognise outstanding players and tournaments. View the nominees for the player-voted categories: Comeback Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.

ATP Awards winners, including ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite, will be revealed in December.

Voted By Players

Comeback Player of the Year: The player who has overcome serious injury in re-establishing himself as one of the top players on the ATP Tour.

Andy Murray
Andrey Rublev
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Stan Wawrinka

Most Improved Player of the Year: The player who reached a significantly higher ATP Ranking by year’s end and who demonstrated an increasingly improved level of performance through the year.

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Matteo Berrettini
Daniil Medvedev
Stefanos Tsitsipas

Newcomer of the Year: The #NextGenATP player who entered the Top 100 for the first time in 2019 and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour this season.

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Miomir Kecmanovic
Corentin Moutet
Alexei Popyrin
Casper Ruud
Jannik Sinner
Mikael Ymer

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: The player who, throughout the year, conducted himself at the highest level of professionalism and integrity, who competed with his fellow players with the utmost spirit of fairness and who promoted the game through his off-court activities.

Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Diego Schwartzman
Dominic Thiem

Tournaments of the Year: The tournament in its category that operated at the highest level of professionalism and integrity and which provided the best conditions and atmosphere for participating players.

Categories:
ATP Masters 1000
ATP 500
ATP 250

Voted By Coaches

ATP Coach of the Year: Nominated and voted on by fellow ATP coach members, this award goes to the ATP coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance during the year.

Voted By Fans

ATPTour.com Fans’ Favourite (Singles, Doubles): The singles player and doubles team receiving the highest number of votes from ATPTour.com fans (voting closed 18 November). 

Determined By ATP Rankings

ATP Tour No. 1: The player who ends the year as World No. 1 in the ATP Rankings.

ATP Tour No. 1 Doubles Team: The team that ends the year as World No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings. 

Chosen By ATP

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award: The person who has made outstanding humanitarian contributions. Previous winners include former South African President Nelson Mandela, Arthur Ashe, Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and 2018 recipient Tommy Robredo.

Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award: The journalist who has made significant contributions to the game of tennis.

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2019. Today we feature Novak Djokovic vs. Daniil Medvedev.

Novak Djokovic was unbeaten in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Russian Daniil Medvedev before the 2019 season, dropping only one set in their two matches. The 6’6” Medvedev was a player, who, at times, could challenge Djokovic in rallies, but never for more than one set at a time.

All of that changed in 2019, however, as Medvedev became one of the breakout players of the season and learned how to win against the best in the sport, including the ultra-consistent Djokovic.

Australian Open, Round of 16, Djokovic d. Medvedev 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3
In Melbourne to start the year, Medvedev previewed in fits and spurts what was to come of his 2019. Against Djokovic in the Round of 16, Medvedev was trying to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final, and he pushed the Serbian like he never had in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

The two bludgeoned balls back and forth, tallying rallies of 40-plus shots. But Medvedev, after evening the match by winning the second set, faded.

The Russian had a 2-1 lead in the third and three consecutive break points as Djokovic served at 0/40. The World No. 1, though, snapped into action. Djokovic erased all three break points, broke in the very next game and won 12 of the next 15 points en route to winning the third and fourth sets.

“It was hard to go through him,” Djokovic said. “It was kind of a cat-and-a-mouse game for most of the match. That’s why it was so lengthy. We had rallies of 40, 45 exchanges. That’s why I think it was physically exhausting because of the fact that we didn’t really allow each other to think that we [could] make a lot of unforced errors and give away points. His backhand is very, very solid. He didn’t give me much from that side, but you can’t always play on the forehand. You have to open up the court and try to be patient and construct the point.”

The Serbian would continue his dominance in Melbourne against everyone, beating Rafael Nadal to win a record seventh Australian Open title.

Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, QF, Medvedev d. Djokovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Few would have predicted clay would be the surface where Medvedev would earn his maiden win against the all-time great.

The Russian entered the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters with a 2-9 tour-level record on clay and a 1-11 mark against the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings. But he beat No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and then upset Djokovic – his first win against a World No. 1 – for back-to-back Top 10 wins on clay and a place in the Monte-Carlo semi-finals.

“It’s definitely the best match of my career. Not in terms of level of tennis, but definitely by the result. [It’s my] first [ATP] Masters 1000 semi-final, beating No. 1 for the first time in my life,” Medvedev said.

The Russian won the opening set, but Djokovic rallied to force a decider. In the third, however, Medvedev showed how much he had already improved since Australia. He failed to serve out the match in his first attempt but broke again, for the fifth time, for the win.

Djokovic said, “He improved his movement a lot since last year. He definitely deserves to be where he is.”

Watch Highlights: Medvedev Stuns Djokovic In Monte-Carlo

Western & Southern Open, SF, Medvedev d. Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Djokovic was playing in his first tournament since saving two match points against Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final for his 16^th Grand Slam title.

Medvedev, however, was putting together a run of his own on the North American hard courts. Already he had reached two consecutive finals at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., (l. to Kyrgios) and the Coupe Rogers in Montreal (l. to Nadal). And he continued his hard-court final streak against Djokovic, who, just last year, had won the Career Golden Masters in Cincinnati.

Medvedev fell behind 3-6, 2-3, 30/40, but erased the break point to begin the comeback. From there, on serve, Medvedev varied his pace and angles to prevent Djokovic from establishing any rhythm.

For much of the match, Medvedev essentially hit two first serves, and it worked. Djokovic hadn’t lost an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final after winning the first set in more than six years, since March 2013 against Juan Martin del Potro in Indian Wells.

“To be honest, I don’t know how I did it,” Medvedev told Brad Gilbert of ESPN. “I was so tired in the first set and playing Novak, I thought I wasn’t able to keep the intensity. Then, the one momentum change in the second set was the difference. The crowd gave me so much energy.

“Usually I’ll go bigger on my second serve when it’s not working, and Novak was just destroying me in the first set. At one moment, I said to myself, ‘Why do a normal second serve if I’m going to lose the point?’ I started to win much more after that.”

Medvedev continued winning much more after Cincinnati as well. He would win three titles (Cincinnati, St. Petersburg, Shanghai) from six consecutive finals, a run that included his first Grand Slam final at the US Open (l. to Nadal). In November, Medvedev made his debut at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in London and secured his best year-end ATP Ranking of No. 5.

Djokovic vs. Medvedev In 2019

It’s that time of the year again when we look back on the story makers and events of 2019 that made this year’s ATP Tour season one to remember.

We’re starting this week with a look at five of the best rivalries of the year. In Week 2 of the series we’ll focus on the best matches, biggest upsets and stunning comebacks.

We’ll also celebrate the first-time title winners of 2019, salute the champions who announced their retirements and look at the season’s most revealing statistics.

Enjoy!

Rivalries
Federer & Tsitsipas