LONDON — Grigor Dimitrov claimed the biggest title of his career at the ATP Finals on Sunday, defeating David Goffin of Belgium 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Dimitrov, the No. 6 seed from Bulgaria, won in 2 hours 31 minutes, the longest best-of-three sets final in the tournament’s history. It was 12 minutes more than Roger Federer took to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2011.
Dimitrov won all five of his matches at the O2 Arena to become the first player to win the elite season-ending tournament in his debut since 1998.
Goffin saved three match points on his own serve, but Dimitrov kept his cool, taking his second opportunity on his own delivery to close it out.