The final hurdle may have proven one too many for David Goffin at the Nitto ATP Finals, but the lithe Belgian’s confidence has never been higher as he leaves London. Only an inspired Grigor Dimitrov would bring his first campaign as an outright qualifier to an end.

No man had beaten Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same event and fallen short of claiming the title. But Goffin was not bitter – he was only drawing positives from the biggest week of his career.

“No, it’s not unfair,” Goffin said. “I think I deserve the win today, of course. But Grigor also, he deserves the win. He was unbeatable this week. He played really great tennis, was really solid from the first match until the end. So he deserves completely to be here and to win the tournament.

“Even if I won against Rafa and Roger, I lost the final. But anyway, it was a great week. So I have no regrets after that match.”

Dimitrov’s 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 triumph meant he was the only man to beat Goffin all tournament. He also won the pair’s round-robin clash for the loss of just two games.

Goffin became the first Belgian man to beat a No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings when he upset Nadal first up, before his convincing defeat to Dimitrov. He surged into his maiden Nitto ATP Finals semi-final with an emphatic win over No. 4 seed Dominic Thiem before overturning a 0-6 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Federer in the semi-finals.

It made him just the sixth man to beat Federer and Nadal in the same event and the first since Djokovic to do so at the 2015 Nitto ATP Finals. 

“I think after this week I’m a better player mentally,” Goffin said. “Obviously mentally, but also physically. It was tough. “I proved to myself that I can do it. I was at the right place because sometimes you are for the first time in the Top 8, you don’t know how it’s going to go, if you’re going to play a good level.

“I proved to myself that I’m in the right place, and I deserve to be here in this tournament. Then match after match, I took more confidence until the final. So I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, even if I’m disappointed about the final. “I gave everything. I have no regrets after the final. Anyway, it was a great week.”

It caps a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the 26-year-old, following a freak mid-season setback when he tripped on the court covers during a third-round clash with Horacio Zeballos at Roland Garros and was forced to retire with an ankle injury.

After starting the year with a quarter-final run at the Australian Open and having reached back-to-back finals in Sofia (l. Dimitrov) and Rotterdam (l. to Tsonga) it was a cruel blow and meant he would miss Wimbledon. He found form after the US Open when he snapped a six-match losing streak in finals to claim back-to-back titles at Shenzhen (d. Dolgopolov) and Tokyo (d. Mannarino).

Where a well-earned break is in order for most of his peers, Goffin is not quite done. He will make his way to Lille now for Belgium’s second Davis Cup final in three years where his nation will face the might of France.

Regardless of whether his team leaves France with the silverware, 2017 has already proven to Goffin he’s in the right place and he deserves to be there.

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A LOOK BACK
Movistar Open by Cachantun (Santiago, Chile): Competing in your hometown, with friends and family in attendance, is often one of the biggest thrills for a professional tennis player. It’s no wonder Nicolas Jarry was speechless as he stood on Center Court at the Club de Polo y Equitación San Cristobal, with the trophy firmly wrapped in his arms.

Jarry claimed his third ATP Challenger Tour title of the year and first on home soil, downing Marcelo Arevalo 6-1, 7-5 in Saturday’s final in Santiago. The 22-year-old Chilean did not drop a set all week, becoming the 12th player to lift three or more trophies in 2017. He has found great success on the South American clay, adding to titles won in Medellin, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador.

The victory has added significance for Jarry, who breaks into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time at No. 99. Two years after suffering a broken wrist and falling outside the Top 600, the Chilean is realizing his potential.

He's done it! @NicoJarry claims his first title on home soil, defeating Arevalo 61 75 for the Santiago ?. Third #ATPChallenger crown of 2017. pic.twitter.com/TfIfz8ZhNe

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 18, 2017

KPIT – MSLTA Challenger (Pune, India): The city of Pune is fast becoming the mecca of Indian tennis. The ATP World Tour 250 event is slated to move from Chennai to Pune to open the 2018 season, and the Balewadi Sports Complex also hosted the fourth edition of an ATP Challenger Tour event this week. Home hope Yuki Bhambri brought the partisan Indian crowd to their feet all week, and the 25-year-old would reign as the last man standing on Saturday.

Bhambri rallied past countryman Ramkumar Ramanathan 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, claiming his first Challenger crown in two years – since he last prevailed in Pune in 2015. It was just the second all-Indian final on the ATP Challenger Tour in a decade, with the most recent being the 2015 New Delhi championship (Devvarman d. Bhambri). Bhambri is on the comeback trail after an elbow injury derailed his 2016 campaign. After falling outside the Top 500, he is pushing towards a Top 100 return at a projected No. 122. The signature moment of Bhambri’s season came at the Citi Open in Washington in August, where he reached the quarter-finals as a qualifier. It was his first ATP World Tour QF in three years.

From outside the Top 500 a year ago, to lifting his 6th #ATPChallenger ?and closing in on a Top 100 return. The comeback continues for @yukibhambri, champion in Pune. pic.twitter.com/qAqXivsE3v

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 18, 2017

Dunlop Srixon World Challenge (Toyota, Japan): The two-week Japanese swing concluded in Toyota, where Matthew Ebden won his second title in three weeks. Also the champion on home soil in Canberra, Australia, to open the month, Ebden overcame Calvin Hemery 7-6(3), 6-3 in Sunday’s final. Much like Bhambri, Ebden is also in the midst of a successful return to the circuit following injury. The 29-year-old, who reached the final at the ATP World Tour event in Newport in July, is back in the Top 100 for the first time since 2014 after undergoing knee surgery. After opening the season at No. 696 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, he rises to a projected No. 80. It was his eighth Challenger crown in total.

Second title in three weeks for @mattebden, champion at the #ATPChallenger in Toyota. Top 80 bound ⬆⬆ pic.twitter.com/AzkTU5Dw7y

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 19, 2017

JSM Challenger Of Champaign-Urbana (Champaign, Illinois, USA): When you think of the American with the hottest stretch to close out the season, Rolex Paris Masters champion Jack Sock is the first to come to mind. But while Sock was making noise on the ATP World Tour, Tim Smyczek was dominating in the final weeks on the Challenger circuit. The veteran capped his campaign with a 12-1 run, including titles on home soil in Charlottesville and Champaign. His victory in Champaign on Saturday was his second tournament crown, having defeated Sock in 2012. 

Smyczek ousted Bjorn Fratangelo 6-2, 6-4 in Saturday’s final, having secured the USTA’s Australian Open wild card earlier in the week. The American rises to No. 130 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, soaring a combined 59 spots during the three-week U.S. indoor swing.

.@timsmyczek is on ?? to close out 2017, clinching his 2nd title in 3 weeks in Champaign. Finishes the season on a 12-1 run. pic.twitter.com/t75BALN0ft

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 18, 2017

Meanwhile, former doubles No. 1 Leander Paes won his 24th Challenger title, teaming up with countryman Purav Raja to go back-to-back in Knoxville and Champaign.

Internazionali Citta di Brescia (Brescia, Italy): It had been 14 months since former World No. 44 Lukas Lacko last featured in the Top 100, but the Slovakian has returned with a strong late-season push. Lacko, who turned 30 earlier this month, claimed Challenger titles in consecutive weeks, prevailing in Bratislava and on Sunday in Brescia, Italy. He routed Laurynas Grigelis 6-1, 6-2 in 46 minutes. It was the shortest completed final of the year on the ATP Challenger Tour. Lacko is projected to rise 11 spots to No. 93.

A LOOK AHEAD
The final week of the season features four tournaments on three continents. The $150,000 event in Hua Hin, Thailand, has Ebden as its top seed and Canada’s Peter Polansky seeded second. In nearby Bangalore, Bhambri looks to sweep the Indian swing, while World No. 102 Blaz Kavcic leads the field.

Andria, Italy, maintains its traditional season-ending tournament on the indoor hard courts of the ASD Pro Tennis Andria. The event has been a staple of the final week of the season since its debut in 2013. Home hope Stefano Travaglia is the top seed. 2014 champion Ricardas Berankis is seeded second.

The eight-week South American swing concludes at the Rio Tennis Classic in Rio de Janeiro. Top seed Rogerio Dutra Silva eyes a title on home soil, while Jarry looks to cap his season with back-to-back victories.

Grigor Dimitrov finished the best season of his career with the biggest title of his life.

The Bulgarian won his fifth consecutive match at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday, beating David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to win the season-ending championships during his debut.

It’s the fourth title of Dimitrov’s 2017 – a career-high – and the eighth of his career. The right-hander was already going to climb to a career-high No. 3 in the year-end Emirates ATP Rankings. But now he’ll do so emphatically and with a heap of momentum heading into his 2018 season.

“This makes me even more locked in, more excited about my work, and for what’s to come,” Dimitrov said. “It’s a great platform for me to build on for next year. It’s going to be amazing in the off-season. I know what I have to do in order to do good.”

Read More: Dimitrov: Leaving No Stone Unturned

He became the first debutant to win the Nitto ATP Finals title since Spaniard Alex Corretja in 1998 (d. Moya). The Bulgarian, who finished 5-0 this week in London, will earn $2,549,000 in prize money and 1,500 Emirates ATP Rankings points.

This was the year so many pundits and fans had wanted for Dimitrov – a quartet of titles, a Top 5 finish. It all seems to have changed midway through last season, when he paired with coach Daniel Vallverdu. The Bulgarian was No. 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, his lowest position in more than three years, and he had lost both of his ATP World Tour finals.

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But Vallverdu, who had worked with Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych, brought a simplified game plan for Dimitrov, and as the two grew closer, the weekend finishes – and the titles – followed.

“With the right set of mind, with the right people, with the right support, things happen. For me, that period really helped me a lot. I think I needed that,” Dimitrov said. “In that particular moment, I really realised what I really need to work on, who are the real people around me, who really counts on me, who matters to me. There’s so many lessons that I took out of that period.”

The 26-year-old Dimitrov was emotional in his celebration. He lied face first on the court, sobbing. He rose to hug Goffin before hopping to his box and sharing long embraces with his parents, Vallerdu and others.

First-Year Qualifiers Become Nitto ATP Finals Champions

The sixth seed had already beaten Goffin at The O2 — a 6-0, 6-2 rout on Wednesday during Group Pete Sampras play — and now leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series 5-1 against the Belgian. Sunday’s final marked the 17^th time singles finalists have met twice in the same year-end championship, and the first time two first-time qualifiers had played for the title.

But, after that round-robin match, Goffin had experienced what he called the best win of his career, upsetting the No. 2 seed and six-time former champion Roger Federer to reach Sunday’s final.

Goffin started quicker as well, leading by a break at 4-3. But when he slapped a forehand long, they were back on serve, and the crowd, including those waving Bulgarian flags, made their favourite known, chanting “Di-mi-trov! Di-mi-trov! Di-mi-trov!”

Let’s Meet Again At The Nitto ATP Finals

The Bulgarian then upped his level even more, not facing a break point in his final two services games and later taking the set.

“I really had to dig deep, especially in that first set, which I thought was the key,” Dimitrov said.

But Goffin returned to his aggressive style at 3-3 in the second set, hitting back-to-back forehand winners to break for the third time in the match. He was dominant on serve in the second as well, dropping only five points, and forcing the final match of the 2017 ATP World Tour season to a final set.

“When the serve is going well, it’s easier to be more aggressive,” Goffin said.

The Belgian had made his week – and his year – by finding a way through third sets. Goffin had beaten Nadal and Federer in London in three sets. For the season, Goffin was 22-5 in decisive sets. But Dimitrov, who had been about .500 in decisive sets this year, pulled through, breaking in an 11-point game when Goffin spilled a backhand wide. He converted his fifth championship point when Goffin netted a backhand volley.

Goffin will take home $1,158,000 in prize money and 800 Emirates ATP Rankings points. The Belgian will finish at a career-high No. 7 in the year-end Emirates ATP Rankings.

“I proved to myself that I’m in the right place, and I deserve to be here in this tournament. Then match after match, I took more confidence until the final,” Goffin said. “So I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, even if I’m disappointed about the final.”