Tennis

Tsitsipas shows next gen are ready to rule

November 18, 2019 4:02 pm

Stefanos Tsitsipas after winning the ATP finals [Source: 7News]

Stefanos Tsitsipas says he is “really close” to winning a first Tennis Grand Slam after claiming the biggest title of his career at the ATP Finals this morning.

The 21-year-old Greek beat Dominic Thiem to become the youngest winner of the season finale since 2001, with six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker declaring “a superstar is born”.

He made his first Slam semi-final this year and is now world number six.

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Tsitsipas, who reached the Australian Open last four in January to launch his breakthrough year, kept his nerve to beat Thiem in a tense final-set tie-break at London’s O2 Arena.

He was already the youngest man to achieve wins over greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic before his victory on his debut at the season-ending tournament that features the year’s best eight players.