World Tour Finals is Thiem's dream come true

PARIS • Austria's Dominic Thiem clinched the eighth and last spot for the ATP World Tour Finals after remaining rivals Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych were beaten at the Paris Masters quarter-finals.

The 23-year-old will make his debut at the London event which starts next Sunday and is the first Austrian singles player to qualify since Thomas Muster in 1997.

Thiem joins four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, fellow debutant Gael Monfils and Marin Cilic in the tournament.

"I'm so happy to have made it to London," said Thiem. "It's been a dream since my childhood to qualify for the ATP Finals.

"In the past two years it became a goal and to achieve it at such a young age it is amazing, 20 years after the only other Austrian player."

Thiem enjoyed an incredible first six months of the season, winning four ATP World Tour titles. He broke into the top 10 after reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros where he lost to Djokovic.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on November 06, 2016, with the headline World Tour Finals is Thiem's dream come true. Subscribe