'Domination': Alexander Zverev makes history in ATP Finals triumph

Alexander Zverev has made history at the ATP Finals after defeating World No.2 Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to secure his second end-of-year title.

Zverev was on a five-match losing streak to the Russian, but after dispatching Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, the German powered his way towards a sixth title with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

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The win sealed a strong 2021 season, which has included finishing the tour with the most wins - 59, one more than Medvedev.

Zverev also won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics

The main thing missing in Zverev's trophy collection remains a grand slam trophy, having lost an epic final to Dominic Thiem in last year's US Open final, yet he looks like the man to beat at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

"There's no better way to end the season than winning here," Zverev said.

"I'm also now very much looking forward to next year already."

"He is a great player that is capable of beating anybody. He definitely can win a Grand Slam because it's just obvious," Medvedev said. "But he's not the only one. That's where it gets tough. ... You need to win seven matches to be a Grand Slam champion. Is he capable? Yes. Is he going to do it? We never know."

Zverev also became just the fourth player to defeat the World No.1 and 2 in the semi and final of the ATP year-ending event.

The three previous players were Ivan Lendl (1982), Stefan Edberg (1989) and Andre Agassi (1990).

The tennis world was quick to praise Zverev for the final trophy of the year.

Alexander Zverev's serve dominates final

The final was a rematch of a round-robin encounter on Tuesday, when Medvedev beat Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker.

This one went Zverev's way from the start, as the 1.98-metre German crushed a huge backhand to the corner then gained from a net-cord winner to break Medvedev's serve in the third game of the match.

Helped by fast conditions inside the Pala Alpitour, Zverev was virtually untouchable on his serve, winning 20 of 25 points on his delivery in the first set.

Zverev broke again in the opening game of the second set then grew so confident that he began executing audacious swinging-volley winners as he followed his serve to the net on occasion.

This marked the first edition of the season-ending event for the top eight players in Turin - after 12 years in London, where Zverev won his first finals title in 2018.

with AAP

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