A season mostly dominated by the top two players in the world who are well into their 30s will end with a member of the “Next” generation facing a member of…well…no generation in the final match.
With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic exiting the tournament in round-robin competition before Roger Federer lost in the semis, it will be Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem battling for the Nitto ATP Finals title on Sunday evening.
Neither Tsitsipas nor Thiem was responsible for Nadal’s ouster, but they both played a part in sending Djokovic and Federer packing. Thiem upset Federer 7-5, 7-5 in Group B and then won a 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) thriller against Djokovic–who was eventually eliminated by Federer. Tsitsipas booked his spot on championship Sunday by beating Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals.
Thus the stage–and a surprising one, at that–is set for a seventh career showdown between two players on the short list of contenders to become the next first-time Grand Slam champion. Thiem leads the head-to-head series 4-2, including 3-1 on hard courts and 1-0 in 2019. They faced each other earlier this fall in the Beijing final, with the Austrian triumphing 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Amazingly enough, a win in that match would have given Tsitsipas his first-ever title at anything more than 250-point event. His three winners’ trophies have come from Stockholm (2018), Marseille (2019), and Estoril (2019). That is not to say he has underwhelmed on big stages by any means. Tsitsipas reached the semifinals of the Australian Open this season and he owns a combined five victories over the Big 3 in nine chances. Prior to his Saturday upset of Federer, the 21-year-old Greek went 2-1 in Group A with wins over Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev and a three-set loss to Nadal.
Having already clinched Group A by beating Federer and Djokovic in success, Thiem lost a relatively meaningless match to Matteo Berrettini. The fifth-ranked Austrian rebounded to topple Zverev–the defending champion–via a 7-5, 6-3 scoreline on Saturday night. With that Thiem moved to within one win of fourth hard-court title in 2019, and the first three all came at no less than the 500-point level.
“I didn’t feel that great indoors before (this fall),” said Thiem, who was making his first semifinal appearance inside the O2 Arena in his fourth trip. “I didn’t have that great success at this tournament the three previous years. And now I’m in the finals. It means so much to me….”
Now it is not Federer but rather an opponent five years his junior who stands in the 26-year-old’s way of his biggest-ever title.
“The first time I met him (was at the 2016 ATP Finals) as a hitting partner,” Thiem said of Tsitsipas. “I saw that he’s playing great, but I didn’t put so much attention on it because other things to focus on. And then he came on tour and we played our first match last year in Doha, like two years ago almost, and there I saw and I also felt his amazing potential…. Well, he really deserves it. He’s a good person. He’s a very good player with a very attractive style to watch.”
“Dominic has inspired me a lot to be a better version of myself when I’m out on the court,” Tsitsipas commented. “I see a lot of things that he does on the court and I try to do the same…. Dominic has always been someone that I looked up to and wanted to…wanted always to play with the same intensity and the same will that he puts in the court. He puts a lot of effort and a lot of…I would just describe him as an intense player.”
Perhaps the main similarity between the two rising stars is the one-handed backhand, which will be especially crucial on Sunday. Both have more reliable forehands, but Tsitsipas caught fire with his one-hander in the second set against Federer. The world No. 6’s entire all-court game has been clicking this week and his willingness to charge the net has also been effective on this relatively fast surface. Thiem has been more willing than usual to do the same, but his level that was on display against Federer and Djokovic in the first two matches has dipped ever so slightly.
Even though Tsitsipas has never been the last man standing at anything bigger than a 250, there is no denying his love for the big stage. Sunday in London, of course, is his biggest yet.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 3
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WHO YA GOT?
Thiem in three .H2H and experience of big matches. But its close.
Odds favor Thiem, he has more experience, going with Thiem. Hope it’s a good match.
Tsipas in 3 ,vhe is very eolid
Thiem in 3.
Having beaten both Fed and Djoker, he deserves the title more than anyone.
Thiem is running a cold. He frankly was just okay yesterday, made lot of errors. He won’t beat tsitsipas with yesterday’s level and will have to up his level.
Is thiem the no 4 now ? I hope he stays that way as drawing him in qf will be tough for the big 3
Yeah I read somewhere that Thiem had some kind of virus. Hopefully he’ll feel better today.
Stefanos couldn’t beat Nadal who was very average in this tournament, whereas Thiem effectively eliminated the favourite Djoker, which is why I feel Dom deserves the title more.
I love the way they speak highly of each other….good sportsmanship…Thiem in 2😻🎾
I like Dominik, he seems like a vey nice, hard working individual! I think he deserves the title! Tsitsipas I don’t like that much, although I do not mind him being a bit arrogant. After all, that’s the only way for them to encourage themselves when playing the big three.
Hope for a great match!
Sanju will be pleased to hear this!: Thiem said that there would be a new grand slam champion next year with younger players having a breakthrough in 1 or 2 events…
I say this because yesterday sanju wisely/unwisely said that the big 3 would have problems qualifying next year and the younger guys would win the slams!😀
Evenly matched so far but somebody is going to pull ahead eventually, it’s hard to tell.
Damn, Thiem can serve and Tsitsi can return! such a good match, so far.
Clutchiness is keeping them even right now.
Not all slams. I said they will make breakthrough and all 4 won’t be held by big 3.
It’s good Thiem ends no 4. It will be tough for big 3 to draw him in qtrs
Was ribbing you a bit sanju!😀
Wow Thiem is really yelling at himself if he makes a mistake. He needs to calm down…
Have become used to watching with the sound off. That’s the only way I can tolerate watching when Nole is playing – because of rude, ignorant fans.
Suppose it’s safe to turn the sound on with these two playing.
But commentators constant chatter can be almost as annoying and bias – another reason to turn sound off.
Yeah, these two are so good. Thiem surely will win a GS soon. Tsitsi too, maybe. Both of them brimming with confidence.
A lot of Theim’s playing style reminds me of Rafa. lol!!!
Damn it Theim, giving Steph a lifeline!!!
Well done Dom!!😀
But Stefanos blinked first. Thiem has the first set.
Only one point separated them in the first set!!
Crucial error by Tsitsi late in breaker!
Poor game by dom.
Good start to 2nd set for steph
Dom has gone to sleep…
He does do this..
He won’t win a slam sanju if he has these lapses…
3-0 !
Frankly it’s high time we have new slam winners. It’s boring to see the same 3 from past 15 years as good as they are..we need more unpredictability n surprises .
No we don’t, ha!!!
Not if it involves Rafa losing we don’t!
Besides watching the 3 all time goats isn’t boring!