Russia’s Daniil Medvedev fought back to beat US Open champion Dominic Thiem and land the biggest title of his career at the ATP Finals in London on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Russian rallied from losing the first set to claim a 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory over world number three Thiem at the O2 Arena.
The Russian becomes the last man to lift the title in London with the tournament moving to Turin from 2021.
Medvedev’s victory was reminiscent of his semifinal win over 20-time grandslam champions Rafael Nadal, where he also bounced back from losing the first set, to win a second set tie break before closing out the third.
Thiem led the second-set tie-break but Medvedev reeled off seven points in a row to force a decider and came through a tight final set to ensure victory.
Medvedev will finish the year fourth in the world rankings.
The win marks the fourth straight year a non grandslam winner has won the season ending tournament which brings together eight of the best players in the year.
Medvedev becomes the only player to beat the three highest-ranked players at the season-ending event, following his earlier victories over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
For Thiem, a second straight loss in the final will hurt but he can reflect on what has otherwise been an excellent year where he reached two Slam finals, losing to Djokovic at the Australian Open before claiming his maiden major title in New York.
