ATP Finals: Matteo Berrettini beats Dominic Thiem in London round-robin

  • Posted: Nov 15, 2019
2019 Nitto ATP Finals
Venue: O2 Arena, London Dates: 10-17 November
Coverage: Watch live coverage of one match per day on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app. Click here for Live Guide.

Matteo Berrettini claimed a consolation victory at the ATP Finals as he beat the in-form Dominic Thiem in his final group match in London.

The Italian could not qualify for the semi-finals but beat a subdued Thiem 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

Eighth-ranked Berrettini, who began the year outside the top 50, is the first Italian to win an ATP Finals match.

Austria’s Thiem had already qualified for the last four by beating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Swiss third seed Federer earned a 6-4 6-3 win over Djokovic later on Thursday to reach the semi-finals as group runner-up behind Thiem and eliminate the Serb second seed in the process.

Neither Federer nor Thiem knows the identity of their opponent in Saturday’s semi-finals, with only Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas certain of progressing from the other group but not guaranteed to finish top.

Spanish top seed Rafael Nadal, Russian Daniil Medvedev and Germany’s defending champion Alexander Zverev can all still qualify depending on the outcome of Friday’s final round-robin matches.

The event, which is taking place in London for the penultimate year, features the top eight male players of 2019.

Berrettini claimed a comprehensive win over Thiem, who may have been struggling with the effects of his thrilling three-set win over Djokovic on Tuesday.

The two exchanged breaks in the opening set before Berrettini dominated the tie-break, finishing with 17 winners to fifth-ranked Thiem’s seven.

The second set was a regulation affair, with Berrettini claiming the only break before serving out the win in one hour and 18 minutes.

“I’m not feeling great physically so I’m happy with my performance,” Berrettini said.

“I was able to stay mentally focused even when I lost my serve, and I played a great tie-break.”

  • Live scores, schedule and results
  • Salisbury & Ram’s ATP Finals run over
  • Nadal boosts Finals hopes; Tsitsipas through

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