Daniil Medvedev won the biggest title of his career, battling past Dominic Thiem 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 after two hours and 43 minutes to win the Nitto ATP Finals.
Medvedev, the first Russian champion since Nikolay Davydenko in 2009, also beat Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal earlier in the week — making him the first player to sweep the top three players in the FedEx ATP Rankings at the season finale.
“I always said before this tournament that it would be an amazing story if, here in London, where the tournament was for [12] years, that the first champion would be Russian and the last champion would be Russian, too,” Medvedev said. “A lot of thanks to Nikolay Davydenko for being an inspiration for many kids [like] me [by] winning here. I hope to continue doing his job.”
In the semifinals, Medvedev, seeded No. 4, also came from one set down to knock out world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, avenging his loss to the Spaniard in the final of the 2019 U.S. Open.
“It can give me a lot for my future career, I mean, to beat Dominic the way he played today is probably the best victory of my life. Not even talking about the title itself,” said the 24-year-old, who had lost all three group matches in last year’s ATP Finals.
Earlier in this year’s group stage, Medvedev had defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets, meaning the Russian defeated the year-ending tournament’s top three seeds.
“It means a lot. It shows what I’m capable of when I’m feeling good mentally and physically,” said Medvedev.
After 12 years in London, the ATP Finals will be staged in Turin, Italy beginning next year.
