It won’t be 1 versus 2 as Djokovic, Nadal ousted
Instead of No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 2 Rafael Nadal for the ATP Finals trophy, it’ll be No. 3 Dominic Thiem against No. 4 Daniil Medvedev.
Nadal had won 71 matches in a row when grabbing the opening set, and he served for the victory in Saturday’s semifinals when leading 5-4 in the second set. But Medvedev broke at love there and came all the way back to win 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, claiming the last four games.
“It’s great that we managed to beat two of the biggest players in the history of the sport,” Medvedev said.
Thiem frittered away four match points in his semifinal against Djokovic because he was “tight and nervous” during a second-set tiebreaker. Thiem eventually reeled off seven of the match’s last eight points after trailing 4-0 in the last tiebreaker, winning 7-5, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5).
Thiem ended Djokovic’s run at a record-tying sixth trophy, as Medvedev ended Nadal’s bid for the most significant title the 20-time major champion hasn’t won.
Instead of a 57th meeting between Djokovic and Nadal, Thiem and Medvedev will face off for the fifth time. Thiem leads 3-1, including a straight-sets win in the U.S. Open semifinals in September en route to his first Grand Slam championship.
No. 11 Creighton pulled out of a tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., this week because of a COVID-19 outbreak. ... Indiana State withdrew from this week’s Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida because of positive tests. ... Milwaukee paused team activities and canceled the season-opening MKE Classic it was set to host.
The Las Vegas Raiders activated seven players off the COVID-19 list after they missed practice last week. Cleveland activated right tackle Jack Conklin and kicker Cody Parkey. ... Tennessee placed outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney (knee) on injured reserve and ruled out safety Kenny Vaccaro (concussion) for their Sunday game at Baltimore. ... Cincinnati placed running back Joe Mixon (foot) on IR. ... Jacksonville activated cornerback D.J. Hayden from IR. ... Former Charger Brandon Mebane announced his retirement.
Robert Streb shot a three-under 67 to build a three-shot lead going into the final round of the RSM Classic. ... Sei Young Kim answered Ally McDonald’s ace with a birdie run for a five-shot lead in the Pelican Women’s Championship.
Benji Michel’s goal in a second penalty shootout and a late save by a reserve defender summoned to play goalie helped send Orlando City into the MLS Eastern Conference semifinals with a 1-1 (6-5) victory over New York City FC. Columbus also advanced with a 3-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls.
Deiveson Figueiredo stopped Alex Perez with a guillotine choke in the first round at UFC 255 in Las Vegas, defending his f lyweight title for the first time. Valentina Shevchenko defended the women’s f lyweight title with a surprisingly difficult unanimous decision over Jennifer Maia.
Two-time Olympian
John Daly is back on the USA Skeleton team, after a sweep of the team selection races at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Megan Henry won the women’s team selection race.