Tennis News

Van Assche's 'sequence' to Jeddah return trip

Frenchman Luca Van Assche is one of three players making a return trip to Jeddah at this week’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, alongside Arthur Fils and Alex Michelsen. The 20-year-old Van Assche made the semi-finals in 2023 before falling to countryman Fils.

But this year, there is a new team in Van Assche’s corner, Italians Vincenzo Santopadre and Paolo Cannova, the latter accompanying the Frenchman this week.

Since beginning their partnership in February, Van Assche and Santopadre — who previously spent 13 years with Matteo Berrettini — have built a strong connection that extends beyond the tennis court. Santopadre introduced his charge to the Italian card game Scopa, sparking a new source of friendly competition.

“It’s a fun game,” Van Assche said. “I didn’t play a lot of cards when I was young. When I met [Vicenzo], he bought some new cards and they are Italian cards. We started to play this game and we are very competitive.

“The last two weeks, we didn’t play that much because Paolo bought another game — Sequence — so we are trying some new things. It’s very fun off the court.”

Does Van Assche, who studies mathematics at Paris Dauphine University, use those skills to give him an edge in such games?

“It can help but also sometimes, it’s a bit of luck. When I win, of course it’s normal because my brain works very well,” Van Assche joked. “But when I lose, it’s because the others are lucky!”

Van Assche’s season highlight came at the start of the year, a third-round run at Australian Open that featured back-to-back five-set wins. Now the No. 128 player in the PIF ATP Rankings looks to put a bow on 2024 with a deep run in Saudi Arabia. He will be the first to take the court Wednesday against China’s Shang Juncheng. It will be their first Lexus ATP Head2Head series meeting.

“It is a fun tournament with some different rules. It’s such a special atmosphere here. It’s different from a normal tournament, only eight players competing,” Van Assche said. “With the group stage, I lost a match [last year] and I still qualified for the semis. I also played against a good friend [Fils] in the semis. It was a good experience.”

Introducing the Class of 2024 🫡🎓#NextGenATPFinals | @sauditenfed pic.twitter.com/eW7aH5PFwp

— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) December 16, 2024

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Shang, Fils reflect on parents’ sporting influence

You could argue that Shang Juncheng was born to become an elite athlete.

The Chinese star has firmly established himself as one of the brightest prospects on the ATP Tour in 2024, during which he surged to a career-high No. 47 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Dealing with a meteoric rise can be tough for any young talent, but Shang has not one, but two former pro sportspeople at hand to offer sage advice — his parents, ex-footballer Shang Yi and ex-table tennis player Wu Na.

“I think I’m where I am because of them,” Shang told ATPTour.com on Tuesday in Jeddah ahead of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where he will compete as the fourth seed. “I think for each player, parents are the most important. At the end of the day, it’s the people around you — your team, your coach, your family — I think they are most important for me.

“They are definitely very understanding of how it is to be a professional athlete. We have conflict always about things. It’s never perfect, and there are ups and downs for sure, but at the end of the day we try to not make it an argument. More to describe your own feelings and express the way you are feeling on the court, and what you need to improve. At the end of the day, it’s all about just communicating.”

Regular communication from a parent has also been vital to the development of Arthur Fils. The Frenchman may not have a parent who played pro sport, but his father played basketball to a high level as a teenager. Jean-Philippe Fils passed on his competitive edge to his son, who is now a Top 20 player at just 20 years old.

“It’s always been the same,” said Jeddah top seed Fils when asked about any key advice his father had given him for his tennis. “The same sentence, but it always made sense. ‘Never quit’, give 100 per cent and we’ll see, and you don’t come on the court to participate, you come on the court to win.”

Both Fils and Shang have already done plenty of that. The Frenchman increased his tour-level title tally to three in 2024 with ATP 500 triumphs in Hamburg and Tokyo, while Shang forged a breakthrough in Chengdu, where he became the first Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title on home soil. Even if following that significant early success proves tough, the 19-year-old knows he can always turn to a positive family environment.

“The most important thing is that they never put any pressure on me, winning or losing,” said Shang. “It’s always part of the game, and as athletes I think they know it is part of the game. For me to enjoy myself and try 100 per cent is all they wanted, even now that I turned professional just last year. They want me to enjoy, overall, and just have fun on court.

“One of the biggest bits of advice they gave me is that I have to try and focus day in, day out. You don’t just become an amazing player with one practice. Other players, they work super hard each day for their goals, for their dreams. That’s what my parents are telling me every day: ‘Hey Jerry, you had a good day today, but the next day you’ve got to repeat that. Repeat it and repeat it again, and you’re going to be a better person and a better player’.”

There are plenty of examples of the children of athletes following their parents into the same sport: From NBA star Bronny James (son of LeBron James) to NFL stars Eli and Peyton Manning (sons of Archie Manning) and ATP Tour players such as Casper Ruud and Sebastian Korda. Fils and Shang may not be playing the same sport as their respective sporting parents did, but they still have first-hand experience of their abilities.

“[My dad] played basketball until he was 18. When he was playing, he was pretty good,” said the No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings Fils. “I never watched him play, but sometimes we go and play together. When we play, he is winning for sure at basketball. One hundred per cent. I would say my dad is [physically] pretty explosive, and I would say I have this from him.

“My parents play a big role in my development for sure, maybe the biggest. Of course, on the court I am the one playing and holding the racquet, but they are always supporting me and they help me so much. They have a big role.”

<img alt=”Arthur Fils” style=”width: 100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/12/17/14/48/fils-dad-basketball-2024.jpg” />

_{^{Jean-Philippe Fils and Arthur Fils playing basketball. Photo Credit: Getty Images}}

Meanwhile Shang acknowledges he cannot match former China international Yi at football, nor former mixed doubles world champion Wu at table tennis. Yet he attributes time spent playing with them as key to his competitive edge.

“I’ve played football with my dad and table tennis with my mum,” said Shang. “Obviously, I’m not as good as them. Against my mum, if I get lucky, I win a point! Each player, each athlete, whichever sport you do, the goal is to win. To be the better player on the court or to be the best in the world. I think generally the competing style, I got it from them.”

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Players briefed on unique rules ahead of Jeddah action

One key aspect to succeeding at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF? Getting your head around the rules.

The 20-and-under event has been a hotbed for innovation since its inaugural edition in 2017. This year’s tournament is no different, as the eight-player field discovered during a pre-tournament meeting on Tuesday in Jeddah.

Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen, Jakub Mensik, Shang Juncheng, Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche, Nishesh Basavareddy and Joao Fonseca gathered in a King Abdullah Sports City press conference room for a run-through of the signature rules and innovations in play for the tournament.

_{^{The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF player briefing. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}

As in previous years, matches will be first-to-four-games, best-of-five-sets, with a tie-break (first to seven points) at 3-3. A No-Ad scoring format will be used, with the server choosing the service box at 40/40.

Reduced and shortened changeover times are also in place to ensure fast-moving encounters. Players will sit down at the end of the set for 90 seconds, reduced from 120 seconds in 2023. On-court warmups have been reintroduced for 2024 after they were absent last year. Players will warm up for three minutes on court, two minutes fewer than warmups on the ATP Tour.

A No Let rule, which was used in previous editions of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF but not in 2023, will also be reimplemented. Play will continue even if the ball touches the net during a serve, provided it lands in the correct service box. It raises the prospect of a player’s reaction time to a net-cord being potentially decisive at a key moment in a match.

The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City from 18-22 December, with a tournament-record US $2.05 million prize money on offer.

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Scouting Report: Fils, Michelsen, Mensik headline field in Jeddah

To draw the curtain on a thrilling ATP Tour season, the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF will shine a light on the eight brightest 20-and-under stars, who all get underway in Jeddah on Wednesday.

Top seed Arthur Fils and American Alex Michelsen are back for a second consecutive year, with the Frenchman aiming to go one better than his runner-up finish in 2023. ATP Newcomer of the Year Jakub Mensik, Shang Juncheng, Learner Tien, Nishesh Basavareddy and Joao Fonseca will all make their first appearance at the event, while sixth seed Luca Van Assche is back in Jeddah for a second straight year after his semi-final run in 2023.

Ahead of the innovative event, ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch.

1) Fearless Fils eyes title: Fils’ standout season, underpinned by two ATP 500 crowns in Hamburg and Tokyo, has earned him the status as top seed in Jeddah for a second straight year. After falling short in last year’s final to Hamad Medjedovic, the No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings is eager to go one further and forge a memorable run to this year’s title, but will he succeed?

2) Michelsen leads American trio: Second seed Michelsen is back in Jeddah for a second straight season after reaching a further two ATP Tour finals in 2024. The 20-year-old is joined by countrymen and friends Tien and Basavareddy, who have all known each other for the past 10 years. Second seed Michelsen opens against Basavareddy on Wednesday, having shared the spoils at two ATP Challenger events in 2023.

3) Menacing Blue Group: Fils is joined in the daunting Blue Group by World No. 48 Mensik, three-time ATP Challenger Tour champion in 2024 Tien and 18-year-old Fonseca. Top seed Fils will have his work cut out from the onset as he opens against Fonseca, who beat the Frenchman 6-0, 6-4 en route to the quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year in the pair’s only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

4) Shang flying Chinese flag: Fourth seed Shang has enjoyed a historic season on the ATP Tour, having become the first Chinese player to win a title on home soil after his run in Chengdu. The 19-year-old has climbed inside the World’s Top 50 and has now carved his name as the first player from his nation to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

5) Jeddah hosts for second year: The King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, will host the Next Gen ATP FInals presented by PIF for a second consecutive year. The seventh edition of the event, which pits the world’s eight best 20-and-under players, will commence on Wednesday, with all competitors in action. The round-robin stage will run Wednesday through Friday, with the semi-finals on Saturday. The title match will take place at 8 p.m. local time on Sunday.

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'Circled on my calendar': Improved Michelsen makes Jeddah return

Alex Michelsen came up empty last year at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, losing a pair of final-set tie-breaks in a dramatic group campaign. Armed with that experience and an improved all-around game, he returns as the second seed and one of the favourites to lift this season’s Jeddah crown.

“I’m very happy to be back. This has been circled on my calendar pretty much the whole year,” said the American. “To be back here as the second seed is really cool. I get my own locker. I’m super pumped.”

Michelsen entered the 20-and-under event last season shortly after breaking into the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings. He’s now on the brink of the Top 40 after his first full season on the ATP Tour.

“This year I think is a little different,” he explained. “I can carry the experience I got this year into this week and all the experience I’ve gained from playing 33 weeks this year. I’m super happy to be back and hopefully I can do a little better than last year.”

One year after making the Newport final in just his second tour-level event, Michelsen backed that up by reaching two ATP Tour singles finals this season. He once again finished runner-up on the Newport grass before making another deep run on home soil on the hard courts of Winston-Salem.

“Very happy to make both those finals,” Michelsen said, looking back on what he called a “very positive year”.

“I finaled Cincy in doubles and then I went straight over to Winston-Salem and finaled in singles,” he continued. “I played a match every day for 12 or 13 days. I was pretty toasted going into the Open this year, but making those two [singles] finals was incredible. It was the highlight of my year for sure.”

The 20-year-old credits his dedication to fitness and a more professional diet for his strong 2024, as well as improvements on his forehand and serve. Thanks in large part his parents, Erik and Sondra, Michelsen has a strong foundation on which to build.

He often hit with both parents growing up and benefited from their varied playing styles. While his dad played an aggressive game, his mom was more of a grinder: “When I would go out on the weekends to play with both my parents, I’d just be grinding with my mom. Then my dad would step in,” he said with a laugh. “It was always a little more fun with my dad because we’d play all these fun little games, like cross-court first to five, chip backhands, stuff like that. My mom was like, ‘OK, we’re going to hit forehand cross-court for 30 minutes.’

“She built me a great base. I hit with her almost every day until I was 15. When COVID came around, that’s kind of when I stopped hitting with her. But I used to hit with her four or five times a week and without her there’s not a chance I would be here. I’m incredibly grateful to my parents.”

Now, Michelsen fine-tunes his game with coaches Robby Ginepri and Jay Leavitt. They have both helped him get used to life on the ATP Tour, when — even for the very best — most weeks end with a loss.

“At the beginning it was tough not winning,” Michelsen said of the adjustment. “Not winning a tournament, it bums you out a little bit. In juniors I was winning a lot in the local tournaments and then the ITFs. And then you get on Tour and everyone is so good and it’s just so tough to win a tournament. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better [at dealing with that] just because you know everyone is losing except one guy. I’ve matured in that way for sure.”

With the unique format this week in Jeddah, Michelsen could take a loss and still win the title. Or he can match Jannik Sinner’s run at the Nitto ATP Finals with a perfect 5-0 record en route to the trophy.

No doubt aiming for the latter, Michelsen will begin his Jeddah campaign Wednesday with an all-American matchup against seventh seed Nishesh Basavareddy.

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Fils brings fun to Jeddah: 'Smiling is one of the most important things'

One year after reaching the title match Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF as the top seed, Arthur Fils returns as the lead man in the Jeddah draw once again. Still, this year’s event has a different feel for Fils, coming three weeks later in the calendar.

“This year it’s late in the season. It’s almost the new season, actually,” the 20-year-old Frenchman said on Monday. “We’ve already started to practise very hard in the preseason and everything. It’s been three or four weeks that I’m practising.”

Fils is looking forward to starting his 2025 season in Hong Kong and Australia, but first hopes to take care of some unfinished business in Saudi Arabia. The timing of the event is not the only change from last year. Among the innovations and rules this week, players will warm up for three minutes — a change from no warm-ups last year but shorter than the usual five minutes on the ATP Tour. Fils is a fan of this tweak: “Three minutes is pretty good,” he said, describing it as a happy medium. “Five minutes sometimes is a bit long.”

Now a tour-level regular, Fils followed his maiden title in 2023 with a pair of trophies this year. He won a clay title in Hamburg and a hard-court title in Tokyo, saving a championship point in the final against Ugo Humbert at the latter event.

“Hamburg was unbelievable but Tokyo was crazy,” Fils said. “It was a tough week. I played against so many great players.”

He notched four Top 20 wins on his way to that ATP 500 title, beating Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune before edging his countryman Humbert in the final. That result helped him climb into the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings himself, with Fils ending the year at a career-high of World No. 20.

Among all of his accomplishments in 2024, one of the most crucial for Fils has been his ability to continue having fun despite the added pressure of playing at the highest level. He set a personal goal to smile during every match, and he was happy to report that he achieved that goal this season.

“That’s the most important. I think for my game it’s one of the most important things,” he said, “because if I don’t have any pleasure to be on the court then I don’t play good. I try to have fun, to enjoy the moment. When I’m like this, I know that I’m playing good.”

As for 2025, Fils revealed a more concrete pair of goals: to win at least one more ATP Tour title and finish the year with a new career-high PIF ATP Ranking. In the final act of his 2024 season, Fils will open his Jeddah campaign Wednesday against Joao Fonseca.

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An ‘80s festive special with Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones

A dysfunctional family Christmas, filmed entirely on their home video camera

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Marton Fucsovics announces engagement to Nini Molnar

Marton Fucsovics is the latest ATP Tour star to find the offseason as a fitting time to announce his engagement.

Fucsovics took to Instagram Sunday to inform fans of his engagement to Nini Molnar, a fellow Hungarian. Fucsovics, the No. 104 in the PIF ATP Rankings, proposed and they took a selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

“We met more than a year ago and it was love at first sight,” Fucsovics told ATPTour.com. “It was a difficult year for me professionally, but my personal life helped me through it. I knew that she is the best for me, so I didn’t want to wait another year with the engagement. Like this I’m stepping into 2025 with relief and even more motivated.”

Last month, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexei Popyrin and Casper Ruud all announced their engagements to Nina Ghaibi, Amy Pederick and Maria Galligani, respectively.

Fucsovics reached a career high of No. 31 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2019 and has two tour-level titles to his name. In April, the 32-year-old triumphed at the clay-court ATP 250 event in Bucharest for his first crown since 2018.

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Being Brad Pitt, swimming with dolphins & Real Madrid joy; Mensik, Shang, Van Assche open up

Jakub Mensik, Shang Juncheng, and Luca Van Assche are among the most exciting young talents making waves on the ATP Tour right now. And this week, they are all in the field at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah, but before the action heats up on court, the trio discussed some of their off court interests.

On Monday, ahead of the event, the trio talked to ATPTour.com about everything from their favourite movies and Netflix series to their dream doubles partners and unforgettable off-court experiences. Here’s what they had to say…

Favourite Netflix series and favourite movie?
JM: My favourite series is Game Of Thrones, and I like the series Vikings. For movies, I love Gladiator and Gladiator II. It is one of my favourite films and I also love The Wolf of Wall Street, it is such a good film. I like action movies and series and also classics.

SJ: I really like The Great Gatsby or Inception. Great Gatsby is a great movie and a great book, maybe an even better book.

LVA: I think my favourite one is Prison Break, and on Netflix I watched Fauda. In general, I don’t have one in particular. Just older films, like Gladiator.

Favourite artist and last song you listen to before you take to court?
JM: The song I would listen to would be Mockingbird by Eminem. It gets me in the zone before matches and I have had some good wins after listening to it. I like a lot of music by Eminem.

LVA: I listen to a lot of music. In French, I like PNL a lot. They are a French rap group. Sometimes I also listen to the Weeknd. The last song I listen to before going on court is Gazo. He is a French rapper also.

What’s something cool you’ve done off the court because of being a tennis player?
JM: I went to watch the El Classico during Madrid this year. I am a big Madrid fan so to have the chance to watch Madrid play Barcelona was unreal. I think it was one of the best experiences. You could also call it sightseeing, visiting the Bernabeu stadium.

SJ: I hung out with dolphins. I was out on a boat by an island and then the dolphins followed us all the way back from the island to the shore, which was about an hour and a half. To see them up close for so long was really cool.

LVA: Sometimes I am invited to rugby matches in France through being a professional tennis player. I went twice to matches in Paris during the 2023 World Cup. I saw France vs. New Zealand and New Zealand vs. Ireland.

Who would your dream doubles partner be and why?
JM: I would choose Dustin Brown. He is fun, he is a showman and he knows how to play well at the net, so I think it would be a fun choice.

SJ: I would say Li Na. She has been a huge inspiration for Chinese tennis. My main memory of watching her was the final at the Australian Open when she won it in 2014. That was really inspiring. In men’s I would choose Novak Djokovic.

LVA: Federer, because he is my favourite player.

If you could switch places with one person in the world for a day, who would it be?
SJ: I would choose someone famous and probably an actor like Brad Pitt. I would like to see what his lifestyle would be like. Any amazing actor would do just to see the cool lifestyle they would live.

LVA: If it was a tennis player it would be [Roger] Federer, because I would like to see how it feels to be like him. Away from tennis, maybe the President of France, to see what he does all day.

Do you have a secret talent?
JS: I think I am quite good at golf. I don’t play much but when I do, I play quite well. I should go and play with Rafa and Casper Ruud.

LVA: I played piano when I was a kid, but it was more than 10 years ago, so maybe I forgot it. [I could ask] Ugo Humbert for advice: he’s very, very good.

What is your favourite cheat meal?
JS: I like a really good Italian pizza. 

LVA: It would have to be pizza.

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#NextGenATP stars chill before battle begins in Jeddah

The world’s best eight young tennis players assembled on the shore of the Red Sea in Jeddah Monday afternoon in the leadup to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, to be staged in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the second consecutive year.

Posing for the official group photo on a court comprising 37 traditional carpets and against a tennis net made of woven palm leaves, the stage was chosen to represent Jeddah’s reputation for diversity and for bringing together people and cultures.

The players began with a round of media day interviews inside the Royal Overlook Building where they could imagine jaw-dropping sightlines for the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche, scheduled for April. Frenchman Luca Van Assche, returning to the tournament for the second consecutive year, captured the track on his cell phone.

Players then journeyed upstairs to the terrace overlooking the Red Sea for the official group photo. Later, as the sun was setting, the players gathered on a yacht to sail the Red Sea.

“It’s good to be here, it’s a great place,” said Czech Jakub Mensik, the No. 48 in the PIF ATP Rankings, who registered four Top 10 wins this season.

“It feels awesome [to be here]. They’ve had this tournament since 2017, so it feels really nice to be the first Brazilian,” said Joao Fonseca, who defeated Jeddah top seed Arthur Fils during the Rio Open presented by Claro in February in his signature performance of the season.

“It means I’m part of the Next Gen, and I think for me it tells me I’m on the right path, so it’s really nice.”

Group play begins Wednesday at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, leading to the semi-finals on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

Last year’s finalist Fils heads the Blue Group, which also features Mensik, American Learner Tien and Fonseca.

Second-seeded American Alex Michelsen, back for the second time, heads the Red Group, which also features China’s Shang Juncheng, France’s Van Assche and former American college standout Nishesh Basavareddy.

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