Daniil Medvedev gave the O2 Arena a historic send-off.

Medvedev made ATP Finals history with his 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 win over Dominic Thiem in today's title match, the fourth-ranked Russian is the first man to defeat the world's Top 3 at the prestigious season-ending event.

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The fourth-ranked Russian is the sixth different man in the last six years to lift the ATP Finals title trophy. Medvedev's title run, which comes months after Thiem collected his first career Grand Slam title at the US Open, is a sign the balance of power is shifting, says the third-ranked Austrian.

While Rafael Nadal won his 13th Roland Garros crown and Djokovic earned his eighth Australian Open title, Thiem believes we are seeing a changing of the guard at the top of the game.

"Definitely, because we still have many years ahead of us," Thiem said. "We proved that we can play with the legends, that we can also beat them, that we can also win the biggest tournaments.

"I think next few years the Big 3 still will play for every big title, but I guess there's still gonna be a time when those guys retire, I don't know, in three, four, five years. And then I guess we will be the favorites for all the big titles. I think for tennis it's some exciting times are coming ahead."



The challenge for players like Thiem, Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev is to keep fans engaged the way the Big 3 have done throughout their careers.

"I think it's super important for the sport, because like Roger, Rafa, Nole and also Andy, they did so much for the sport," Thiem said. "I think they brought so many people to tennis, so many new fans to tennis. And as I said, there is going to be a time when they are not around anymore, and then it's going to be so important to keep all the tennis fans, to keep them with this great sport.

"I think that's our challenge, that we perform well, that we play great in big tournaments, that we become huge stars ourselves. It's super important for tennis in general, because, I mean, they gave so much to the sport.

"Yeah, as I said, that's our challenge to keep all those people with tennis and to maybe continue their story."

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