Tsitsipas, who at 22 years old is 12 years younger than Nadal, seemed to gain energy and a bounce in his step as the warm evening wore on, getting to balls that had been out of his reach earlier and forcing Nadal to hit extra shots and battle to hold his serve in nearly every game. In the fifth set, Nadal and Tsitsipas traded service games, with Tsitsipas’s serve becoming increasingly untouchable — he served four consecutive aces to knot the set at 3-3 — and Nadal fighting for nearly every point to stay level. Serving at 5-5 in the fifth set, Nadal made two errors to lose the first two points of the game, then missed wide on the forehand to give Tsitsipas his chance to serve out the match. The final game was a microcosm of the match. An early lead for Nadal, followed by Tsitsipas storming back, Nadal fighting off two match points to give himself a chance to survive, before netting a forehand volley and watching Tsitsipas blast a backhand down the line to clinch the match.

Source: New York Times February 17, 2021 13:00 UTC