Stefanos Tsitsipas became the youngest player to win the ATP Finals in 18 years at the 02 Arena on Sunday evening.
The 21-year-old had to come from a set down to overcome Dominic Thiem 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 7-6 (7-4), eventually collapsing to the floor in delight after Thiem’s stray forehand gave the tournament-debutant his maiden ATP Finals title in over two and half hours of gripping tennis.
Both players threw everything they had at each other with neither player deviating from an aggressive mindset both of them coming back from the brink of defeat at one stage or another to force one of the 02’s great finals.
And whilst fans may have initially been disappointed not to be able to witness Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in the final, these two youngsters showed there will be plenty of life in tennis after the three decide to hang their racquets up.
Both players would have felt aggrieved had they not taken the opening set, with neither deserving to lose it. In the end, Thiem’s nerveless first serve, as well as his confidence at the net gave the Austrian the first set after 68 minutes.
Fighting Spirit
If Tsitsipas was disappointed, he certainly didn’t show it as he broke the seemingly impenetrable Thiem serve twice to race into a 4-0 lead in the second set. If anything, the Greek youngster became more aggressive after falling behind and utilised his cross-court forehand to perfection. From 4-0 up, Tsitsipas rarely looked flustered on his own serve as he comfortably levelled the final up at one set apiece.
It felt like whoever broke through first in the decider would go on to win the final, but if the first two sets encapsulated the finesse and talent of the two finalists, the third was a glowing example of their tenacity and spirit.
Thrilling Decider
Tsitsipas broke the Theim serve to take a 3-1 lead in the decider, but Theim roared back immediately to level it up at 3-3. From then on in, both players had to dig deep on their service games to force the second tie-break of the match. In the end, Tsitsipas’ phenomenal defence and fitness was the difference in the tie-break.
Speaking to the BBC immediately after the match, the 21-year-old, said: “It’s been a roller-coaster. Holding this trophy is amazing.
“It is a dream come true and the best way to end this match.
“I did get nervous at some points in the match but I managed to forget about how I felt and I had momentum in the tie-break, which was really tight.”
“My fighting spirit and me constantly trying to push myself to do better got me there in the end.”
