Alexander Zverev won the Final tournament

Alexander Zverev ascent towards the top of the men's game took a significant stride forward when he followed up the defeat of Roger Federer in the semi-finals with victory over Novak Djokovic in the final.

But Zverev won the biggest title of his career so far under the lights in London.

Germany's Alexander Zverev described his ATP Finals title as "astonishing" on Sunday after beating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in consecutive days without losing a set. Zverev stopped play as a ball rolled onto the court, slipping from a ball boy's grasp.

But at 4-4 he wavered as he yanked an edgy forehand halfway up the net to give Zverev the chance to serve for the set.

"For that to happen obviously I need a good team, so I want to thank my team for a great season".

"I was a little bit sad at the end with the booing and reaction of the crowd", he said.

The German became the youngest player to win the prestigious year-ending title since his Serbian opponent in 2008 and the first from his country since Becker in 1995.

Zverev faces a monumental task against the relentless Djokovic, who he lost to 6-4 6-1 in the round-robin stage, but he will surely have a fairer audience than against Federer.

Federer, 37, was seeking a record-extending seventh title but was unable to cope with the pressure created by Zverev's power and precision at the O2 Arena. "I was like, 'Buddy, shut up. He's barely lost a match in the last six months", Zverev said. "All the best for the finals.' And you move on".

Anderson was far from happy with his own serving display and admitted to not finding the same "sense of freedom and relaxation" against Federer and Djokovic that he had in his first two group matches.

The momentum shifted slightly in the next game as Zverev hit loose back-to-back double faults to let Djokovic back in, but he was unaffected, again exerting vast pressure on the Djokovic serve to break for the third time in a row and re-take the lead.

"I mean, obviously it's not great to lose a tennis match, especially in the finals of a big tournament".

"I was very emotional afterwards".

Zverev underlined his ability on clay, making a successful defence of his Munich title on home soil before becoming only the fifth player to hold three or more Masters 1000 titles.

Zverev took his opportunity in emphatic fashion - blasting down three consecutive aces then winning the set when another Djokovic forehand flew long. Federer was asked if he spoke to the ball boy after the match.

"Speaking of being young, hopefully I'll play many more years and I'll see you guys here in years to come".

I wasn't entirely convinced that Djokovic should be as short-priced as he was, pre-tournament, but the Serb hasn't dropped a set in the entire event, and it is understandable why he has such market support.

I said, Did you drop the ball?

"I'm not questioning Sascha's sportsmanship in any way", he said. "He said, "Look, you don't even have to apologize, this is all part of the game, it happens". It's all good. It's all good. "I hope I'll be able to do that [on Sunday]".

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