Nitto ATP Finals: 5 debutants who have won the tournament

Modified Nov 11, 2019 09:02 GMT

Ilie NastaseÂ was the first tournament debutant to win the ATP Finals. — Ilie Nastase was the first tournament debutant to win the ATP Finals.

#2: Guillermo Vilas (1974)

In 1974, Guillermo Vilas became the second debutant to win the ATP Finals, when the Argentinian lefthander beat Bjorn Borg, John Newcombe, Onny Parun in the group stage before beating Raul Ramírez to set up a title showdown with three-time defending champion Ilie Nastase.

Vilas squandered a two set lead in a competitive title match on the grass of Melbourne, the only time the tournament would be played on the surface, before triumphing in five sets to dethrone Nastase.

In eight subsequent appearances in the tournament, Vilas would not reach the summit clash again.

#3: John McEnroe (1978)

On his ATP Finals debut on the indoor carpet of New York in 1978, John McEnroe beat Arthur Ashe, defending champion Jimmy Connors and Harold Solomon in the group stage to reach the last four.

Victory over Eddie Dibbs set up a rematch with Arthur Ashe for the title. McEnroe recovered from the loss of the first set in a tiebreak to win 7-5 in the third and become the third debutant to win the ATP Finals.

The victory in the final also made the 19-year-old McEnroe the youngest player and the only teenager in the history of the ATP Finals, to win the tournament. The American lefthander would go on to win two more titles at the ATP Finals, doing so in 1983-84.

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Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee