Daniil Medvedev fought back to beat US Open champion Dominic Thiem and win the biggest title of his career at the ATP Finals in London.
The Russian dug deep to claim a 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory over world number three Thiem at the O2 Arena.
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.
The 24-year-old will finish the year fourth in the world rankings.
Medvedev is 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.
He did not beat a single top-10 player from November 2019 to October 2020 but has now beaten seven in the space of four weeks.
It was the last year the tournament was being held in London, with the event moving to Turin, Italy, from 2021.
With no crowd in the stadium because of coronavirus restrictions, Medvedev’s celebrations were muted before he and Thiem had a lengthy hug at the net.
Despite the loss, Thiem can still reflect on a solid year in which he has reached two Slam finals, losing to Djokovic at the Australian Open before claiming his maiden major title in New York.
