Greek tennis sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas won the biggest title of his career so far, beating Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the final of the Nitto ATP tournament, 2 sets to 1 in London on Sunday.
The Greek lost the first set on a tie-break, at 6-7, but came back on the second, winning by 6-2. The final set was full of drama, but Tsitsipas won on the tie-break, with a final score of 7-6.
After stunning Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in Saturday’s semifinal, Tsitsipas somehow produced another fantastic performance for the last match in the last tournament for the season.
“It’s been a roller-coaster. Holding this trophy is amazing,” the current world number six said after his triumph. “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,” Tsitsipas explained to reporters.
“My fighting spirit and me constantly trying to push myself to do better got me there in the end,” he added.
Few would be surprised if Tsitsipas – who fell to his knees in joy with his head in his hands once Thiem sent a return wide to hand him victory – followed along that path, and he must be viewed as one of the very top contenders at the season-opening Australian Open.
At only 21 years and three months, Tsitsipas is the youngest Nitto ATP Finals champion since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt (20) in 2001 in Sydney.
Tsitsipas, who earned $2,656,000 in prize money and 1,300 ATP Rankings points in five matches this week, is also the first player since David Nalbandian in 2005 to recover from losing the opening set and claim the title.
THE NEW KING OF LONDON 👑
🇬🇷 @StefTsitsipas becomes the first Greek player to win the #NittoATPFinals 🙌
🎥: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/vgqwdbfQiS
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 17, 2019
THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE ODYSSEY
The moment @StefTsitsipas became #NittoATPFinals champion! pic.twitter.com/geMfGGfvv1
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 17, 2019
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