The ATP Finals is one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar, and the top seeds often dominate it, but in 2005, the lowest-ranked player ended up lifting the trophy.
The likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Pete Sampras lead the standings for the most wins at the ATP Tour Finals since the inaugural edition in 1970.
The round robin event sees the top eight players go head-to-head one final time to see who comes out on top and sometimes there can be an almighty surprise.
In 2005, the eighth and final seed ended up shocking the rest by lifting the trophy – and he even toppled Federer.
The only eighth-seed winner of the ATP Finals
The 2005 ATP Final saw Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andre Agassi as the top three seeds, but none of the top stars were successful.
Nadal and Agassi were forced to withdraw from the tournament ahead of play in Shanghai, and were replaced by Fernando Gonzalez and Mariano Puerta.
That left Federer as the overwhelming favourite, but the eighth seed at the tournament had other plans for the Swiss star.
David Nalbandian entered the tournament as the lowest-ranked seed and he came through a group with Federer, Guillermo Coria, and Ivan Ljubičić.
The star lost his round-robin match with Federer, but would get his revenge when it mattered most in the final.
Nalbandian beat Federer from two sets down to lift the trophy, becoming the only player to win the tournament as the eighth seed.
The Argentine also beat fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko on his way to lifting his sole ATP Finals trophy.
The biggest surprise winners of the ATP Finals
While the top players normally dominate at the ATP Finals, it is a tournament that often throws up some surprises.
Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted the big three to lift the trophy in 2019, beating Federer in the semi-finals and Dominic Thiem in the final.
| Winners of the ATP Finals | Year |
| Jannik Sinner | 2024 |
| Novak Djokovic | 2023 |
| Novak Djokovic | 2022 |
| Alexander Zverev | 2021 |
| Daniil Medvedev | 2020 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 2019 |
| Alexander Zverev | 2018 |
| Grigor Dimitrov | 2017 |
| Andy Murray | 2016 |
| Novak Djokovic | 2015 |
Davydenko also managed to overcome the big four’s dominance by winning the trophy in 2009, defeating Juan Martin del Potro in the final.
The 2025 ATP Tour Finals kick off on November 9 in Turin, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz already qualified for the tournament.
