Alexander Zverev completed his season in style by winning the ATP Finals in Turin, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final for his sixth title of 2021.
Zverev beat the Russian 6-4 6-4 to capture his second trophy at the season-ending event, after also winning in London in 2018.
Medvedev was the defending champion but fell in one hour and 15 minutes, unable to earn a single break point against the in-form Zverev, who had beaten world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Zverev began the season ranked No.7 and ends it at No.3 after winning 59 matches in 2021.
“It is special, and I am super thrilled and happy right now. There is no better way to end the season than winning here,” Zverev said.
“I am already looking forward to next year.
“I had lost (to Medvedev) five times in a row, so I had to play one of my best matches. I am happy about that and happy to go on holiday with this win."
Despite levelling their head-to-head series at 6-6 with his win on Sunday, Zverev had not beaten Medvedev since 2019, and lost to the US Open champion in the group stages in Turin.
But it was a different story in the final just a few days later.
Zverev broke serve early in the first set when his shot clipped the net cord and died on Medvedev’s side. And he broke in the very first game of the second set, earning break point with a backhand winner and converting it when Medvedev sent a forehand wide on the next point.
Those early breaks set the tone for each set, and the match, which Zverev largely dominated on the quick indoor hard court.
He finished with 23 winners to Medvedev’s 14, won 15 of his 21 trips to net, and served brilliantly, landing 74 per cent of his first serves and winning more than 80 per cent of those points.
He now owns 19 career singles titles, bettering his haul of five titles in 2017 by going undefeated in six finals this year.
Among those triumphs was an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and ATP Masters crowns in Madrid and Cincinnati.
Still searching for his first Grand Slam title, Zverev will turn his attention to that goal at Australian Open 2022 after reaching major semifinals at Roland Garros and the US Open this year.