Rafael Nadal may not have won his match with Dominic Thiem at the ATP Finals on Tuesday, but he probably won rally of the tournament.
Thiem produced a fearless display of attacking tennis to beat Nadal 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-4) in a high-quality duel and seize control of their group.
World No.3 Thiem saved a couple of set points in the first tiebreak before whipping away a forehand to take an opening set in which there was barely anything between the two.
Spaniard Nadal, bidding to win the only big title to elude him, engineered the first break of the match at 3-3 in the second set only for Thiem to reply in stunning fashion.
Nadal was on the brink of defeat when he slipped 0-40 behind serving at 4-5 after a wayward smash, but the 20-time grand slam champion dug himself out of a hole, saving three match points.
The World No.2 produced an insane tweener to stay alive on game point, showing incredible skills to recover and level the match at 5-5.
The remarkable rally sent tennis fans into a frenzy.
Crazy
