The 6 men to win ATP Finals title but never win a Grand Slam: ft Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas

Oli Dickson Jefford 13 Nov 2024 4:10 PM

Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas holding the ATP Finals trophy

Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are former ATP Finals champions.

The ATP Finals title is one of the biggest in tennis and for some players, triumphing at the event remains the greatest success of their career.

We look at the six men who have triumphed at the year-end championships without – to date – claiming a Grand Slam title.

Alex Corretja – 1998

Former world No 2 Corretja captured the biggest title of his career at the year-end championships in 1998.

The fifth seed in Hanover, the Spaniard made it through his group in second place before stunning top seed and two-time defending champion Pete Sampras in the semi-finals.

That set up a final against compatriot and fourth seed Carlos Moya, with Corretja battling from two sets down to claim a memorable 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 victory.

A 17-time winner on the ATP Tour, Corretja came closest to major success at Roland Garros, where he was a finalist in 1998 – losing to Moya – and 2001.

David Nalbandian – 2005

Considered by many as one of the greatest players to never lift a Slam, Argentine Nalbandian pulled off one of the biggest shocks in ATP Finals history to triumph in 2005.

Despite being the lowest seed in the draw, eighth seed Nalbandian progressed through his group in second place – his only loss coming to Roger Federer.

After beating Nikolay Davydenko in the last four, Nalbandian fell two sets down to the Swiss in the final, though rallied to stun the world No 1 6-7(4), 6-7(11), 6-1, 6-2, 7-6(3) in a huge upset.

Nalbandian won 11 ATP singles titles and was the Wimbledon runner-up in 2002, alongside reaching the semi-final at the three other Slams.

Nikolay Davydenko – 2009

A regular at the ATP Finals during the late 2000s, Davydenko became the first Russian man to win the title with his triumph in London 15 years ago.

Runner-up in 2008, the sixth seed beat Rafael Nadal on his way to finishing second in his group, and then shocked Federer in the last four to reach the final.

The former world No 3 faced reigning US Open Juan Martin del Potro in the final and dispatched the Argentine 6-3, 6-4 to capture the biggest of his 21 career titles.

Davydenko surprisingly never made a Grand Slam final, though was twice a semi-finalist at the French Open and the US Open.

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Grigor Dimitrov – 2017

Former world No 3 Dimitrov completed the best season of his career by winning his sole ATP Finals crown in London back in 2017.

The Bulgarian was flawless in his group, dropping just one set across three wins to finish in first, and then rallied from a set down to beat Jack Sock in his semi-final.

That set up a surprise final against seventh seed David Goffin, which Dimitrov won 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to win the biggest of his nine ATP Tour triumphs.

Dimitrov is yet to reach a major final though is a former Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open semi-finalist.

Alexander Zverev – 2018, 2021

Zverev holds the rather unique position of being the only two-time ATP Finals winner to yet lift a Grand Slam title.

The German won his first year-end championships back in 2018, shocking Novak Djokovic in the final – having previously lost to him in the group stage.

He repeated a similar feat in 2021, falling to Daniil Medvedev in the round robin stage, but reaching the final and then turning the tables on the Russian to lift his second title.

Zverev was a runner-up at the US Open in 2020 and French Open in 2024, and will look to remove his name from this list next season.

Stefanos Tsitsipas – 2019

Greek star Tsitsipas claimed the most significant title of his career at the year-end championships in 2019, the final year the event was held in London.

Making his event debut, the sixth seed topped his group and then defeated Federer in straight sets to reach the final.

Up against fifth seed Dominic Thiem, Tsitsipas battled from a set down to seal a memorable 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(4) win, losing just one match in his group.

The former world No 3 has not won a major but is a two-time Slam runner-up, beaten in the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open finals.