Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic has upset top seed Arthur Fils to win the Next Gen ATP Finals championship match in Jeddah.
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Medjedovic squandered two match points in the fourth set but converted his third in the fifth to beat Frenchman Fils 3-4 (8-6) 4-1 4-2, 3-4 (11-9) 4-1 after two hours and 11 minutes.
The 20-year-old Medjedovic did not lose a match on his way to becoming the first Serbian to win the sixth edition of the annual tournament for the tour's top eight players aged 21 or under.
"I can't believe I have won this title, but it's going to give me a lot of confidence for 2024," said Medjedovic, the lowest-ranked champion yet at world No.110.
The 36th-ranked Fils became the youngest Frenchman in nearly two decades to win an ATP title when he triumphed at Lyon this year.
Medjedovic, who is coached by Serbia Davis Cup captain Viktor Troicki, reached tour-level semifinals in Gstaad and Astana and won three lower-level Challengers this year.
Past Next Gen champions include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
The tournament was held in Saudi Arabia for the first time after it was played in Milan ever since the inaugural edition in 2017. Besides shorter sets, other changes to the usual tennis rules included shorter changeovers and less time on
Australian Associated Press
