Tsitsipas wins ATP Finals in debut
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated world number five Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-7(6) 6-2 7-6(4) to win the 2019 ATP Finals in London.
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Prior to this match, Thiem and Tsitsipas had played each other six times, with the Austrian leading the head-to-head by 4-2. On hardcourts, Thiem had won three of the four matches played between the two. However, they had never faced each other before on indoor hardcourts. Additionally, of their six previous meetings, only one took place this year. In that meeting, Thiem came from behind to beat the Greek in three sets in the final of Beijing just last month. The five previous matches between the two players all took place before Tsitsipas had even entered the top 25.
Both players held multiple break points in the first set, but neither were able to convert, as the set went to a tiebreak. There, the Austrian won 8-6 to take the first set. However, Tsitsipas dominated the second set, winning it 6-2 to force a decisive third set.
Given that Thiem held a 15-2 record in decisive sets this season, and was 11-0 in decisive sets on hardcourts, it was certain that he would put up a great fight in the third set. Tsitsipas raced out to a 3-1 lead early on, but Thiem responded by going up 4-3 himself. Like the first set, the third set also went to a tiebreak, which would decide the match.
After losing the first point of the tiebreak, Tsitsipas then won four consecutive points to go up 4-1. After dropping two points on serve and one on return, Tsitsipas allowed Thiem to level the score at 4-4. Nevertheless, the Greek would go on to win the next three points to take the tiebreak 7-4 and win the match after two hours and 37 minutes of play.
Tsitsipas finished the match with nine aces, zero double faults, 34 winners, and 16 unforced errors. On the other hand, Thiem had eight aces, three double faults, 33 winners, and 40 unforced errors.
Tsitsipas has now won the fourth and largest title of his career, and he has become the youngest player to win the event since Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. The 21-year-old from Athens will leave London with over $2.6 million, which is by far the largest paycheck he has received in his career. He also added three top five wins to his resume this week, as well as a win over the world number seven and defending champion Alexander Zverev of Germany.
