Matteo Berrettini sealed a historic victory at the ATP Finals after beating Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
Berrettini had already been eliminated after losing to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in his first two group matches.
But the 23-year-old, making his debut in the tournament, ensured he left on a positive note after beating Thiem 7-6, 6-3 in an hour and 16 minutes on court.
By doing so, he comes the first player from Italy to win a singles match in the tournament's history, after Corrado Barazzutti (1978) and Adriano Panatta (1975) both finished with 0-3 records.
Thiem could have been forgiven for taking his foot off the gas, having beaten Djokovic and Federer to seal his spot in the semi-finals.
But the Austrian was facing a determined Berrettini, who was hoping to leave London with a first victory after disappointing results in his first two matches.
The first set was as even as it could have possibly been, with neither player willing to give an inch on their serve. But Berrettini was growing with confidence with every winner and broke in the ninth.
Thiem struck back instantly and eventually the first set went to a tiebreak. But Berrettini unleashed his terrific serve and Thiem found the net more often than his opponent's side of the court, as he won 7-3.
It was more of the same in the second set, with Thiem not willing to push himself having already qualifed. In the sixth, Berrettini grabbed another break and never looked back, wrapping up his first victory in just 76 minutes on court.
This tournament has been a learning curve for him after his rapid rise, but he will be looking forward to returning in 2020 having written his name in the ATP Finals history books.
