Medvedev defeats Thiem to win ATP Finals crown
Daniil Medvedev did not travel an easy path to the biggest title of his career at the ATP Finals: He beat No. 3 Dominic Thiem in London for the championship after earlier getting past No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
By rallying for a 46, 76 ( 2), 64 victory over Thiem, the U. S. Open champion, in Sunday’s final, Medvedev became the first player to defeat each of the men ranked 13 in the seasonending championship — and only the fourth to do so at any tour event since 1990. Medvedev was ranked fourth.
“Means a lot,” said Medvedev, 24. “Shows what I’m capable of when I’m playing good, when I’m feeling good mentally, physically. So I know what I’m capable of.”
The win against Thiem on an indoor hard court in an arena without spectators, who were barred because of the coronavirus pandemic, followed those against Djokovic in the roundrobin portion of the tournament and Nadal in Saturday’s semifinals.
Medvedev went 50 in all, quite a turnaround from a year ago, when he was 03 at the ATP Finals. The tournament now ends its 12edition stay in London and heads to Turin, Italy, next year.
NBA: Center Marc Gasol, who averaged 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Toronto Raptors last season, has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Athletic reported.
The Lakers will trade former Warriors center JaVale McGee to the Cleveland Cavaliers to clear salarycap space for Gasol, ESPN reported. The Cavs will send formerWarriors forwards Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell to L. A. in the deal, Cleveland. com reported. 1 Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum have agreed to fiveyear, $ 163 million extensions, ESPN reported. 1 The New York Knicks have agreed to trade forward Ed Davis to the Minnesota Timberwolves for formerWarriors Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans, ESPN reported. 1 Players reportedly agreeing to freeagent deals include forwards Carmelo Anthony and Rodney Hood with Portland, center Aron Baynes with the Raptors, formerWarriors swingman Justin Holiday with the Indiana Pacers and guard Austin Rivers with the Knicks. Skiing: Petra Vlhova held off a challenge from Michelle Gisin to clinch her second win in two days, winning aWorld Cup slalom in Levi, Finland.
Vlhova and Gisin shared the lead after the opening run, but theWorld Cup discipline champion from Slovakia beat her Swiss opponent by 0.31 of a second in the final leg.
In her second race after a 10month break, and a day after finishing second to Vlhova, Mikaela Shiffrin was fifth as she missed the podium in a slalom race for the first time in nearly three years.
College basketball: Baylor men’s head coach Scott Drew said he has tested positive for the coronavirus three days before the No. 2 Bears are scheduled to open the season against No. 18 Arizona State. 1 Auburn’s men’s team won’t participate in postseason play this season as a selfimposed penalty stemming from a bribery scheme involving former assistant coach Chuck Person.