Tsitsipas’ London win: breaking it down
Following Stefanos Tsitsipas’ historic triumph at the 2019 ATP Finals, AGONAsport takes a look at some of the interesting facts and figures from that title run.
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FROM NEXT GEN FINALS TO ATP FINALS
As he won the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Tsitsipas became the first player to win both the Next Gen ATP Finals and the Nitto ATP Finals. The Next Gen ATP Finals began in 2017, and is an annual tournament featuring the best 21-and-under players in the world. It should also be noted that Tsitsipas was an alternate at the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals, in the inaugural edition of the event.
YOUNGEST WINNER SINCE 2001
Although Tsitsipas still technically had another year of eligibility at the Next Gen level, he was already good enough to qualify for the ATP Finals. By winning the title on his debut, this made him the youngest player to win the event since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. Overall, he is the fifth-youngest to win the title since the tournament was first held in 1970. Besides Hewitt, the other three were John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi. The 21-year-old from Athens is in good company, as all of the others won multiple Grand Slam titles and were ranked number one in the world during their careers.
BIGGEST CAREER PAYDAY
After winning the ATP Finals, Tsitsipas received $2,656,000 (US dollars), by far the most prize money he’s ever received at a single tournament. Prior to that, the most he made was 608,700 euros (roughly $673,000) by reaching the final at the 2019 Madrid Masters, and 920,000 Australian dollars (roughly $624,000) by making the semifinals of the 2019 Australian Open. Tsitsipas has now won $9,865,605 in total career prize money, with $6,712,204 coming from the 2019 season alone.
FOURTH AND BIGGEST TITLE
This was Tsitsipas’ fourth title of his career, and by far the biggest. His previous three titles (Stockholm 2018, Marseille 2019, and Estoril 2019) were at the ATP 250 level, which is the lowest tournament tier on the ATP. This was also the biggest title in Greek tennis history, as no other player (male or female) had ever won a tournament of this significance.
NUMBER SIX RANKING SECURED
Lastly, Tsitsipas gained 1,300 ranking points by winning the ATP Finals. Although he remained at number six in the world, he is now very close to getting back to number five, and even going up to number four. Tsitsipas ended 2018 ranked 15 in the world, after finishing 2017 ranked 91 in the world. If he continues this run of good results, he will keep rising and reaching new career-high rankings.
