Matteo Berrettini became the first Queen's Club Championships debutant to carry off the singles trophy since Boris Becker, as the Italian landed the biggest title of his career.
The world number nine beat British hope Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 in the London showpiece match on Sunday, setting himself up ideally ahead of a Wimbledon mission later this month.
Whereas Becker was 17 when he triumphed at Queen's Club in 1985, going on to be champion at Wimbledon just weeks later, Berrettini is 25 years old and established as a leading player.
His big serve – an aspect of his game he shares with vintage Becker – proved a huge asset against Norrie as Berrettini served 19 aces and won 91 per cent of points when landing his first delivery.
Norrie could not forge a break point but did commendably well to force a deciding set in a match that lasted three minutes short of two hours.
Berrettini said he had experienced an "unbelievable week", lifting his first title at ATP 500 level, and he was blown away by the Becker link.
"If I think about his name and my name, it's crazy," he said in an on-court interview.
"I was dreaming about playing this tournament. I was watching when I was a kid and now I had the chance to lift the trophy. It's a dream come true."
Berrettini could be a threat to anyone if his serve fires at Wimbledon, and he was proud of how he fended off Norrie.
"I didn't check the numbers during the match. I knew I was serving well," said Berrettini. "I knew it was important because in the rallies this guy is dangerous. I knew I had to play my best tennis."
Berrettini said his celebrations were likely to be muted, given he is in a pre-Wimbledon bubble, predicting his team would limit his post-match treats to "probably room service and sparkling water".
There would be cause for greater cheer if Berrettini goes on a run at the All England Club, with Wimbledon due to begin on June 28. His previous best performance at Wimbledon was a run to the fourth round two years ago.
Berrettini told Amazon Prime: "I know it's going to be a really tough tournament.
"Probably all the players have extra motivation to play well there so it's going to be tough, but I have a lot of confidence."
'Not my goal at all' - Djokovic not committing to ATP Finals appearance
Novak Djokovic "can't say" if he will compete in the upcoming ATP Finals in November as he becomes more selective about which tournaments he participates in.
The Serbian has struggled with injuries and a lack of form in 2024, and he will finish a calendar year without a grand slam title for the first time since 2017.
His last major triumph came at the US Open last year, but he failed to defend his crown, suffering a shock early exit to Alexei Popyrin in the third round at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic is just one grand slam trophy away from becoming the outright record holder, currently sitting level with Margaret Court on 24 titles.
He reached the Wimbledon final in July, only to lose out to Carlos Alcaraz, though he did win his first Olympic gold in Paris by beating the Spaniard the following month.
The 37-year-old is currently representing Serbia at the Davis Cup and stressed that he will be prioritising certain tournaments over others.
"Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc," he told Serbian reporters after beating Greece's Ioannis Xilas on Saturday.
"As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can't say right now.
"My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams, everything else is less important.
"Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly.
"I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.
"In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely tournaments I am going to play."
Following the Davis Cup, Djokovic will play in an exhibition tournament in Sofia and in the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai at the start of October.
"After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do," Djokovic added.
"Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays, that's not the case. Now it's more spontaneous.
"Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where."
Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win
Novak Djokovic marked his return to action with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Greece's Ioannis Xilas to put Serbia in control of the Davis Cup tie.
The 24-time major winner was playing his first match since his US Open third-round defeat by Alexei Popyrin at Flushing Meadows a fortnight ago.
And Djokovic, who helped his nation win the Davis Cup in 2010, looked close to his best as he dropped just a single game, while converting five of the seven break points he forced.
Wrapping up a dominant victory in just 45 minutes, he put Serbia 2-0 to the good in the World Group I tie.
Elsewhere in that group, Casper Ruud helped Norway wrap up a 3-1 win over Portugal.
The three-time major finalist, who put his nation 2-1 to the good alongside Viktor Durasovic in the doubles rubber, was a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor over Jaime Faria in their singles clash.
Later in the day, Argentina booked their place in the final eight after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni saw off Finland in the doubles decider.
Nadal unsure of future involvements after Laver Cup withdrawal
Rafael Nadal says he cannot commit himself to future tournaments after his withdrawal from the Laver Cup.
Nadal shared news on Thursday that he would not make an appearance at the annual event in Berlin, stating that it would not be in the best interests of Team Europe if he were to participate.
The Spaniard was last in action playing doubles at the Paris Olympics with Carlos Alcaraz, and while he says he is in a good space mentally, he was not able to confirm when he would next make a professional appearance on a tennis court.
He said: "Mentally, I’m good, no problems. I'm at home enjoying other things, training as much as I can every day.
"No drama, obviously these are decisions [the Laver Cup withdrawal] that are being made, and this was a possibility - it's been a while without competing. There will be someone else who can do better.
"Right now I’m not in a position to put myself down for anything.
"I said [I would play] until the Olympics and then we would see, and I'm in that period of rest."
Nadal has endured a difficult 2024 so far, playing just 21 competitive singles matches with a record of 13-8.
He has only one grand slam victory to his name this year, beating Jack Draper in the Australian Open, but he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.
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