Sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov takes on seventh seed David Goffin in the men's singles final of ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London on Sunday, November 19.
26-year-old Dimitrov stormed into the final after remaining unbeaten in his maiden appearance at the prestigious year-ending tournament. The soon-to-be world number three edged past Jack Sock of the USA 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the semi-final on Saturday, November 18.
Dimitrov wary of Goffin
Notably, the Bulgarian had thrashed Goffin 6-0, 6-3 when the two met in the group stages of the tournament. Despite having a 7-1 (including Challengers and Futures) record, including the thrashing last week, Dimitrov is not willing to take his opponent lightly in Sunday's final.
"Obviously he's done well this week. I mean, beating Rafa [Rafael Nadal], Roger [Federer[, those are big wins. I think his confidence is going to be up there. But I'm not going to focus in on his confidence or his game right now," Dimitrov spoke of his opponent, as quoted by ATP's official website.
He added: "I'm just focusing on myself, the recovery that I'm going to do today. Of course, it's not going to be the same after I played against him... I think also it is a different stage for both of us."
Resurgent Goffin ready for 'Baby Fed'
Notably, Goffin had lost to Dimitrov days after he stunned Nadal for one of the biggest wins of his career. The 26-year-old Belgian suffered a complete meltdown and looked out of sorts. However, he has buckled up ever since and pulled off one of the year's biggest upsets in Saturday's semi-final.
Goffin came back from behind to stun Federer 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to become the only sixth man in tennis to beat both the Swiss legend and the Spanish giant in the same tournament. The world number eight will thus be definitely pumped up for the big match on Sunday.
"Both are really special. It was the first time against Rafa. Then the semi-final for the first time for me here, and to beat Roger for the first time here in such a big event, big tournament, it was the perfect moment," Goffin said.
Goffin though has struggled against Dimitrov in the past as the latter's varied skills have proved too much for the former. However, after having defeated Federer for the first time in seven meetings, he should be confident of taking on the 'Baby Fed' on the big night.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The ATP World Tour Finals championship match starts at 7pm local time, 6pm GMT, 11:30pm IST
Live streaming and TV coverage
Global live streaming: Tennis TV
India: TV: Sony ESPN; Live streaming: Sony Liv
UK: TV: Sky Sports, BBC 2; Live streaming: Sky Go
US: TV: ESPN3; Live streaming: Watch ESPN
Australia: TV: ESPN; Live streaming: Watch ESPN
Japan: TV: NHK Japan
Germany: TV: Sport1