Hitting partners to meet in final

The first time Dominic Thiem played at the ATP Finals, he was handed an unknown Greek teenager as a hitting partner in training.

Three years later, Thiem is facing that same player in the final of the season-ending tournament.

Thiem beat defending champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinals in London yesterday after Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted six-time winner Roger Federer, to set up a title match between two players who first met at the O2 Arena under very different circumstances.

‘‘I just saw a picture before that I practised with him the first time I played here 2016,’’ Thiem said after beating Zverev 7-5 6-3.

‘‘He was a hitting partner here. It’s an amazing story for both of us. We didn’t think that only three years later we were going to face each other in the final.’’

Tsitsipas, now 21, had the most eye-catching win yesterday, saving 11 of 12 break points to beat Federer 6-3 6-4.

He also took advantage of an error-filled performance from Federer, who continually put his opponent under pressure only to come up short when it mattered.

‘‘I’m proud of myself, how hard I fought, how concentrated I stayed in the breakpoints,’’ said Tsitsipas, who reached the biggest final of his career.

In the evening match, Zverev doubled-faulted on set point to hand Thiem a 1-0 lead and was then broken for the second time to make it 4-2 in the second set.

Thiem saved two break points in the next game to hold for 5-2, and then served out the match on his first attempt.

■ New Zealand’s Michael Venus and his South African doubles partner, Raven Klaasen, are through to the final in London after a launching a stunning comeback against the world’s No 1 ranked team.

The fifth seeds will take on the French pair of Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Nicolas Mahut after beating Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal 6-7 (5) 7-6 (10) 10-6 in the semifinals.