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Top 5 Photos 11/17: Thiem and Nadal put on a show in London

By Jordaan Sanford

The third day at the ATP Finals was nothing short of thrilling as Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal battled across two tight, entertaining sets. On the doubles court,  Nikola Mektic and Wesley Koolhof secured their spot in the semifinals.

These are the Top 5 Photos from Tuesday in London*.* (All photos from Getty Images)

1

Dominic Thiem

The Austrian is now a perfect 2-0 in the ATP Finals after edging past Rafael Nadal in an intense 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) bout. Thiem saved two set points in the opening set and came back from a break down in the second to ultimately defeat the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

"Honestly, I think I played today a little bit higher level than at the US Open," Thiem said in his post-match presser. "This was maybe the best match I played since the resuming of the tour."

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 17: Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates winning a point during his singles match against Rafael Nadal of Spain during day three of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena on November 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
© Getty Images

2

Stefanos Tsitsipas

He was on the doorstep of going down 0-2 in London, but Andrey Rublev would double fault on his match point in the third set tiebreaker, giving Tsitsipas an opening. The Greek managed to come out on top, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (6), to find his way into the winning column and end Rublev's chances at the semifinals.

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas reacts on match point as he wins after a tie-break in the third set against Russia's Andrey Rublev in their men's singles round-robin match on day three of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London on November 17, 2020. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
© AFP via Getty Images

3

Rafael Nadal

Between the tweeners and unimaginable passing shots, Nadal didn't hand over the win to Thiem whatsoever. Nadal will next face defending champion Tsitsipas in the round-robin stage for a chance to keep his semifinal hopes alive.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 17: Dominic Thiem of Austria bumps rackets after his singles match against Rafael Nadal of Spain during day three of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena on November 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
© Getty Images

4

Nikola Mektic and Wesley Koolhof

In a repeat of this year's US Open semifinals, the Dutch-Croatian duo slipped past Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram in the first set and ran away with the match, 7-6 (5), 6-0 victory. Mektic and Koolhof remain unbeaten and the win grants them entry into the semifinals.

Croatia's Nikola Mektic (R) jumps to hit a shot alongside Netherlands' Wesley Koolhof (L) against USA's Rajeev Ram and Britain's Joe Salisbury in their men's doubles round-robin match on day three of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London on November 17, 2020. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
© AFP via Getty Images

5

Kevin Krawietz & Andreas Mies

The German duo redeemed themselves after their tight opening loss to Mektic and Koolhof. This year's Roland Garros champions posted a 6-2, 7-6 (5) score to set up a winner-takes-all clash on Thursday against Salisbury and Ram.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 17: Kevin Krawietz of Germany plays a volley playing with partner Andreas Mies of Germany during their doubles match against Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil day three of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena on November 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
© Getty Images