When Ammar Alhogbani stepped on court to take on Zhang Zhizhen at the Asian Games in September, it was more than just an opportunity for the Saudi Arabian to prove himself against a Top 100 player.

Despite falling to a 7-5, 6-2 defeat in Hangzhou, the 25-year-old Alhogbani’s performance against Chinese star Zhang made him realise he was ready to make a full-time return to professional tennis after time away working as National Teams Development Officer for the Saudi Tennis Federation.

“I played Zhang, and I almost took the first set,” the No. 1 Saudi player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings told ATPTour.com on Saturday in Jeddah. “I was like, ‘If I’m almost taking the first set against a guy like this, there is a good possibility I can do well with [full-time] training. I almost took the first set when I’m training three or four times a week and with no coach’.”

Born in Saudi Arabia, Alhogbani and his family moved to the United States when he was three years old. After growing up in Ohio and then Virginia, he played college tennis at the University of Virginia, where he was part of a NCAA Championship-winning team in his first year. Due to a variety of reasons, however, Alhogbani’s playing career stalled after he graduated and returned to Saudi Arabia in 2021.

“After college I hurt my wrist, at the beginning of when I wanted to make a push [up the rankings],” said Alhogbani. “Then I got the role at the federation, so that slowed it down. This year, [I played] at the Asian Games and some other ITF events, when I had limited training.

“My brother (fellow Saudi Davis Cup player Saud Alhogbani) is now playing U.S. college tennis at Wake Forest, so I don’t really have anyone to train with. So I go to Futures events and train for the first week. I’ve had some good results, so I want to give it a full shot in the coming years, just to see how far I can take it on the court.”

Finding hitting partners has been less of a problem for Alhogbani this week at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM, where the Saudi has practised with several of the competitors at the season-ending 21-and-under event in Jeddah. On Saturday, he hit with top seed Arthur Fils to help warm up the Frenchman ahead of the championship match against Hamad Medjedovic.

“I’ve hit with the majority of the guys [this week],” said Alhogbani. “I hit with Arthur the most. It’s a good time. Obviously, they have different gamestyles. Some guys like to be on top the baseline and bully me around, but I got to play a couple of sets against some of the guys, so that was really cool.”

Dominic Stricker/Ammar Alhogbani/Arthur Fils” />

_{^{Alhogbani (centre) tossed the coin for the group-stage match between Dominic Stricker and Arthur Fils. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}

As a big advocate of Saudi tennis, Alhogbani is delighted to have been part of the first ATP-sanctioned event in his homeland. He sees it as a milestone moment for tennis in a country making big strides across a variety of sports.

“This is a huge step. Obviously, we have had [exhibitions] in the past, but this is the first ATP-sanctioned event, so this is something that’s really big for us,” said Alhogbani. “The sports industry is booming, and football has been king here for so long. Now tennis is a priority sport, so having tennis at the forefront and having this event just goes hand in hand.

“It’s really cool. The kids get to see all the players, and seeing it is believing it. I think it’s going to inspire a lot of the kids to come and play.”

Whatever the future of Saudi tennis, Alhogbani is not likely to be the only member of his family playing a big role. He competes alongside his 20-year-old brother Saud in the nation’s Davis Cup team, and he also made history alongside his 19-year-old sister Yara Alhogbani at this year’s Asian Games.

“This time around was really cool, because I went with my sister,” said Alhogbani, who first played the Asian Games as a 15-year-old in 2014. “We played mixed doubles, and that was the first ever mixed doubles team from Saudi Arabia.”

Ammar Alhogbani” />

_{^{Yara Alhogbani and Ammar Alhogbani at September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou. Photo courtesy of Ammar Alhogbani.}}

With so many recent groundbreaking moments for Saudi tennis, Alhogbani hopes his family’s on-court achievements and hosting the Next Gen ATP Finals can be a starting point for continued development.

“Obviously tennis culture here isn’t so big, and it’s something that is a dream, to make it bigger,” he said. “I would love to see more people in general picking up racquets and see more facilities… For me as a player, I want to see Saudi tennis at the highest level. I think we’re all looking for a player to break through, and just more of these events would help with that.”

Hamad Medjedovic capped his breakthrough season by lifting the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM trophy on Sunday in Jeddah, where he recovered from squandering two match points in the fourth set against Arthur Fils to win the first five-set final in tournament history.

The 20-year-old played aggressively in front of a packed crowd in King Abdullah Sports City, where he received loud support from energetic fans. The Serbian took large cuts at the ball, won 88 per cent (61/69) of points on his first delivery and converted his third match point to fire past the 19-year-old Frenchman 3-4(6), 4-1, 4-2, 3-4(9), 4-1 after two hours and 11 minutes.

It also capped a great end of the season for Serbia after Novak Djokovic clinched a record seventh Nitto ATP Finals crown in Turin earlier this month. The World No. 1 has been sending Medjedovic messages of support this week.

“Two of us from Serbia. He won the big Masters, the real one, and I won the Next Gen. Obviously it’s a huge thing and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps in some way,” Medjedovic said.

Medjedovic did not lose a match en route to becoming the first Serbian to triumph at the tournament, taking home a tournament-record $514,000 in prize money.

At No. 110 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the 20-year-old is the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history, while he is the sixth Next Gen ATP Finals titlist, joining Top 10 stars Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“I can’t believe I have won this title, but it’s going to give me a lot of confidence for 2024,”Medjedovic said. “Arthur is an amazing player; he’s Top 40 for a reason, so I’m really happy.”

“It was tough after the first set. I changed my clothes and recovered and started to play good again. I didn’t play good when I had match points in the fourth set. I wasn’t relaxed, I was very stiff. Thank God I recovered and I was just trying to stay relaxed as much as I could and I managed to do it in the end.”

Both players come out firing on serve in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. They dropped just one point each on their first deliveries, with Fils hitting six aces and Medjedovic seven. With little to separate them, the Frenchman came to life deep in the tie-break, saving two set points before he clinched the opener on his first set point.

After taking a toilet break, Medjedovic found his best level at the start of the second set. He flew through his service games, making use of the shortened shot-clock rule between aces to gain momentum and level. The Serbian then broke in the first game of the third set and continued his impressive level on serve in the third set, winning all 10 points behind his first delivery.

The fourth set then went to a tie-break and Medjedovic moved to match point at 6/4. Fils saved both on second serves, before clinching the set to force a deciding set. The Serbian, who struck 34 winners, including 19 aces, would not be denied though. He raced through the decider, collapsing to the floor after converting on his third match point.

Medjedovic, who is coached by former World No. 12 Viktor Troicki, won three ATP Challenger Tour trophies in 2023, while he reached tour-level semi-finals in Gstaad and Astana.

Fils, who won his maiden tour-level title in Lyon in May, started the season at No. 251 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but arrived in Jeddah at a career-high No. 36. He is the first French teenager to finish the season inside the Top 50 since then-19-year-olds Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils in 2005.

Did You Know?
Medjedovic hit 69 aces during the event. No player in tournament history has hit more aces at the event than the Serbian.

The ATP and Tennis Data Innovations (TDI) will deliver unprecedented insights at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. Using state-of-the-art tracking metrics, the insights will assess the physical capacity required to compete at the highest professional level of our sport.

Read more to learn about Saturday’s final in Jeddah.

Arthur Fils vs. Hamad Medjedovic

The road to the final has been a physical journey at times for Arthur Fils and Hamad Medjedovic. Both players have been pushed by their opponents physically and mentally. So, as the players and their teams are looking to put together the final touches on their game plan for Saturday’s match, here are a few key insights that have come through when looking at the tactical and physical data.

The on-court performance from both of these players during the course of the entire week has been extremely high. They have both done an amazing job of converting on the offense they have created with their easy power, staying in attack over 28% of all points played. Fils has been able to steal 34% of the points using a combination of his speed and power, whereas Medjedovic has been able to steal 33% of his points using mostly great anticipation and strength. On average, the players are hitting their forehands over 80 MPH and their backhands over 70 MPH. Fils will tend to look for his forehand a little more, especially from the AD court, where Medjedovic is more balanced with his attack off the ground, settling for a few more backhands from the middle. They are both very comfortable spreading the court with their forehands to both sides of the court, and they love to finish with their forehands down the line (both of their #1 hot play).

Coming into this match Fils and Medjedovic have put in a similar volume of work, running similar distances and accumulating comparable workloads. Where their physicality profiles begin to diverge is around the high-intensity movements (high-speed distance & explosive movements). Fils has performed 33% more high-speed distance and 25% more explosive movements. This is where the physical profile of athletes can dictate the tactical game planning. The number one cold play of Medjedovic is his defending with the backhand through the middle from the backhand corner. Fils is clearly more explosive with his movements in and out of the corners, allowing him to defend a little more efficiently by using his speed.

Physical Keys to the Match

Coming out of the gates fast and matching the physical intensity of Medjedovic from the start of the match will only favour Fils. Fils has been able to significantly increase his overall work rate over the course of each match. His movement has only improved as the matches have progressed, where Medjedovic has seen a decline in his overall work rate in each of his three round-robin matches. He had come out fast and physical in each match but then seen a steep decline in his work rate as the matches progressed. Can Fils match the early intensity of Medjedovic, using his high-speed distance and explosive movements to counter the pace of Medjedovic, making the Serbian hit one or two more balls each point. Or can Medjedovic take the racquet out of Fils’ hands by keeping the rallies short and making this match more about volume (distance and work load) and less about intensity (high-speed distance and explosive movements). Volume favours Medjedovic and Intensity favours Fils.

The final chance for title glory of the 2023 ATP Tour season also represents an opportunity for Arthur Fils and Hamad Medjedovic to join an impressive list of champions at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM.

Top seed Fils and sixth seed Medjedovic face off at 8 p.m. local time Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City, where they are each hoping to join current Top 10 stars Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas as champions at the season-ending 21-and-under event.

Both players head into the championship match undefeated for the week in Saudi Arabia and their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting promises to be an intriguing one. Despite Fils sitting 74 places higher than Medjedovic in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the Frenchman will take nothing for granted against a player who has thrilled fans this week with his powerful groundstrokes and huge serving.

“We’ve known each other a long time,” said the World No. 36 Fils on Friday in Jeddah. “We played juniors together, so I know that he has an unbelievable serve. The fastest of the tournament. It’s going to be a tough one. I’m going to need to know exactly how to play, with good tactics, but I think that it’s going to be a good match for sure.

“With his tennis and my tennis, we are altogether playing [well]. Let’s see tomorrow, but he’s a nice guy. I hope he will be very good for the next generation [on Tour], but not tomorrow I hope.”

Fils showed impressive composure to down his friend and countryman Luca Van Assche in four sets in the semi-finals on Friday, before Medjedovic advanced after Dominic Stricker (back) retired in the second set of their last-four clash. The 20-year-old Serbian is looking forward to reigniting his junior rivalry with Fils when the pair steps out in the first ATP-sanctioned title match on Saudi Arabian soil.

“I think it’s going to be a really good match,” said Medjedovic on Saturday. “Arthur is a really good player, he’s already [World No.36]. He’s a really good friend of mine as well. I’ve known him for a long time and I’m excited to play him tomorrow.”

Fils won 19 tour-level matches in 2023 and lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Lyon in May, while Medjedovic reached his first semi-finals at that level in Gstaad and Astana and also lifted three trophies on the ATP Challenger Tour. Having each enjoyed breakthrough years, both will want to finish 2023 with a flourish by becoming Next Gen ATP Finals champion in Jeddah.

“To end the year like this is always nice,” said Medjedovic when asked how much winning would boost him heading into 2024. “Especially if I win the whole tournament. I’m happy to be in the final, but the job is not done yet and I want to win tomorrow.”

Hamad Medjedovic advanced to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM title match on Friday when Dominic Stricker was forced to retire in the second set due to a back injury in the pair’s semi-final.

Medjedovic was leading Stricker 4-3(5), 2-1 when the Swiss walked to the net and ended the clash. The 20-year-old Medjedovic struck 12 winners and three unforced errors during the 32 minutes they were on court before the match came to an early close.

Medjedovic, who went 3-0 in the round-robin stage on debut in Jeddah, will face top seed Arthur Fils in the title match. Both are looking to become the sixth champions at the 21-and-under event, joining previous winners Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In a heavy-hitting first set, both players took large cuts at the ball to try and dictate, with serve dominating on the fast courts. Medjedovic won 93 per cent (14/15) of his first-serve points in the opener with Stricker not losing a point behind his first delivery (11/11). With little to separate them, Medjedovic produced his best level in the tie-break, hitting through the Swiss lefty to lead.

The 20-year-old then earned an early break at the start of the second set before Stricker retired.

Medjedovic, who is coached by former-World No. 12 Viktor Troicki, has enjoyed a standout season. The Serbian reached tour-level semi-finals in Gstaad and Astana and won three ATP Challenger Tour events.

Stricker was making his second appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals. The 21-year-old Swiss, who reached the fourth round at the US Open, also fell at the semi-final stage in 2022.

History is being made this week in Jeddah, where the first-ever ATP Tour sanctioned event on Saudi Arabian soil is taking place.

The top eight 21-and-under stars have been battling it out at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM, with fans coming from all corners of Saudi Arabia to catch a glimpse of the action at King Abdullah Sports City.

Ahmed Aljefri has travelled to London, New York and Miami in the past to watch his favourite players compete. Attending Saturday’s semi-finals with his family, the local fan is excited to watch the sport live in Saudi Arabia.

“It is a dream come true to have tennis here,” said Aljefri, who was cheering for Jordanian star Abdullah Shelbayh this week. “I have been a fan of tennis for more than 20 years, so it is great to see the ATP Tour here. It is great the Tour has a presence in Saudi Arabia and it is amazing it is in my hometown.

“Lots of people have been watching tennis here in the past 15 years, so to bring a permanent tournament here is great.”

The Next Gen ATP Finals will be held in Jeddah until 2027 after a five-year agreement was signed earlier this season.

Another fan, Ahmed Alazzni believes the sport has the potential to grow rapidly in Saudi Arabia.

“We went inside and watched the first match. It is my first time watching tennis live and it was quite amazing,” Alazzni said. “It is the first tournament here in Saudi Arabia so we are excited and it is an unbelievable experience for me.

“There are so many fans who like tennis. We know everyone and watch the sport. We love the Next Gen players. We are looking forward to more events coming in the future to this country hopefully.”

_{^{Ahmed Alazzni [left] with friend Mohammed Bulushi [right]}}

Majdi Saber is attending the tournament with his son. He is pleased with the organisation at the tournament.

“The whole arrangement is good and we love it,” Saber said. “The event here is really well run and fans have a great experience. The sport is spreading all the time. The youngest people are trying to get used to the sport and it is getting there.”

_{^{Majdi Saber [left] with his son [right]}}

Arthur Fils maintained his perfect record at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM on Friday when he moved past countryman and close friend Luca Van Assche to reach the final in Jeddah.

The top seed Fils, 19, downed Van Assche 2-4, 4-1, 4-3(1), 4-3(6) after producing heavy-hitting and clean ball-striking for one hour, 37 minutes. The World No. 36 struck several monstrous forehands and was dominant on serve as the match wore on, winning 23 of his 24 first-serve points across the third and fourth sets. Fils booked his ticket to the final on his fourth match point and celebrated the victory by doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siu’ celebration.

“Today was a tough match against a great, great friend. We’ve known each other since we were nine, so it was a little bit tough and I’m happy with the win,” Fils said on his on-court interview. “I came onto the court with the mindset that I can win. The first set was tough, he was playing very good and defending so well, running very fast. I kept my focus and I’m really happy about this win.”

A key moment came in the third set when Fils held his nerve during a no-ad point at 2-3, which doubled as a set point for Van Assche. Fils then jumped to a 5/0 lead in the third-set tie-break, delivering a blow to Van Assche’s chances of ousting the top seed.

“I played every point trying everything with my forehand, moving very good. I was quite happy about that tie-break,” Fils said.

In a rematch of the 2021 Roland Garros boys’ singles final, which Van Assche won, Fils struck 24 winners to set a championship match clash against Serbian Hamad Medjedovic. 

In the six-year history of the 21-and-under event, Fils is the first Frenchman to make the championship match. Fils is 4-0 this week after ending Van Assche’s season.

Turning it 🆙

Fils lifting his level when it mattered most 👏

Fh and Bh #ShotQuality for the match 🆚 #ShotQuality for the x2 tiebreaks combined 📈

Fh avg. speed in the 3rd set TB = 86 mph🔥#TennisInsights | @atptour | @nextgenfinals pic.twitter.com/GZ279y1qVK

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) December 1, 2023

“It was an amazing tournament and a great experience for the players,” Van Assche said. “It was a tough loss today but it’s been a great week.”

At World No. 70 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Van Assche now looks to build upon his breakthrough season and go even further in 2024.

“Every year there are a lot of players at the Next Gen who perform well the next year, so I hope it’s the same again next year,” Van Assche said. “I want to play better and win some titles and win a lot of matches in the Grand Slams.”

The ATP and Tennis Data Innovations (TDI) will deliver unprecedented insights at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. Using state-of-the-art tracking metrics, the insights will assess the physical capacity required to compete at the highest professional level of our sport.

Read more to learn about Friday’s semi-final matchups in Jeddah.

Arthur Fils vs. Luca Van Assche

Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche will face off for the first time on the ATP Tour on Friday. Both players have advanced to the semi-finals of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM, by using their physical make-up in two very contrasting ways. In the three matches of pool play, Van Assche has played the most physical brand of tennis, leading all competitors with the most distance covered, highest workload output, and largest total of explosive movements. He closed out the group stage by playing the second-longest match in Next Gen ATP Finals history, recording a Physicality Index rating of 10, the second-highest rating in tournament history, only behind his opponent in that match, Alex Michelson.

What we know from the data is that Van Asche has no problem responding to high volume and intensity matches, as earlier this year he defeated three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in a match that was comparable to the output of last nights match against Michelson. He came back the next day and pushed Novak Djokovic to three sets, again pushing his PI rating upward of 9.0.

Fills has spent 25 minutes less of active hitting time on court than Van Assche during the course of the first three matches. His first match against Luca Nardi was his most physical match of the Next Gen ATP Finals, recording a Physical Intensity rating of 7.6. Dominic Stricker was able to force Fils into executing his highest number of explosive movements per minute in their four-set match, forcing him to change direction more often in that match.

Keys to Match

Both of these players are physically prepared to compete in the semi-final match-up. They have both proven they can compete physically with the best players in the world, in consecutive matches back to back. The tactical game plan is going to dictate a lot of how the physicality of this match looks. In the one loss Van Assche experienced this week, he moved at a much slower rate than in his other two wins. The amount of high-speed distance he covered was way below his average for the season. That was largely due in part to Medjedovic dictating early in the rallies, keeping the rally count below his season average of 4.5 shots per rally. When Fils is playing his best tennis, he is dictating play with his forehand left of centre, and hitting his forehand over 60% of the time. Van Assche is going to need to get him changing direction more frequently. In the matches Fils has lost this year, he has been forced to change direction almost 25% more.

Hamad Medjedovic vs. Dominic Stricker

Hamad Medjedovic and Dominic Stricker are tactically looking to accomplish the same thing. Strike early and strike often. In their Next Gen ATP Finals matches, both players are averaging 5% more of their points in attack than their opponents. Both players have executed the least amount of high-speed distance and explosive movements in the tournament.

Medjedovic has shown that he is a competitor and he is not going to shy away from the physical pain that comes with going deep into the match. He overcame cramping in his first-round match against Michelson, and followed that up with another tough four-set match against Van Assche.

Keys to Match

Win or lose, we know one thing, both these players are going to try and keep the points short. They are both looking to serve big and take advantage of the balls in the mid-court. Look for Medjedovic to dictate with his forehand, forcing Stricker to have to defend his forehand on the run. Stricker will look to push Medjedovic off the baseline with good depth and then use his lefty forehand to make Medjedovic defend outside the singles sideline with his backyard. Both players have the ability to use their offense to move forward and finish the points off at the net. I would not expect very high PI metrics for this match, as the rallies will look to be short.

At the close of a standout season in which he won his first ATP Tour title in Lyon, Arthur Fils entered the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 36.

But what is the 19-year-old like off the court? ATPTour.com caught up with the Jeddah top seed for a Q&A that covered his post-tennis career plans, his favourite sports and a holiday adventure.

If you could have dinner with three people, who would they be and why?
Cristiano Ronaldo first, because for me he’s the best footballer who exists in the world. I would say also Michael Jordan, because I’ve watched him a lot. And, third, I’m going to say The Rock. 

So you’d say Ronaldo is better than Messi?
For me, yeah. My coach, Sergi Bruguera, loves Messi. So we have a little fight about it.

If you weren’t a tennis player, what job would you want and why?
An actor, for sure. That’s what I’m going to do after my career, for sure. Action movies, like Michael B. Jordan.

If you had to choose between attending a music concert or a sporting event, what would you choose and why?
Sports. I don’t like to go to concerts. To be in the crowd and jumping, I don’t like it. If I’m going, I have to be sitting. Of course I enjoy with friends and everything. But to jump and to be close with all the people in the crowd, that’s not something that I like. And I love sports.

What sports would you want to watch?
Soccer for sure. I support PSG. And probably basketball. I would also love to try Formula 1, in the paddock.

What is one of the most interesting things you have done in your life?
I went swimming with dolphins two weeks ago, in Mauritius. I’d never been to Mauritius for a holiday, so I swam with dolphins.

How well do you know the other competitors here in Jeddah? Are you good friends with anyone?
I’m very close to Luca Van Assche because we’ve played since we were very young together. So Luca, and the other guys here are very nice… Alex Michelsen, Abdullah Shelbayh. Everyone is very nice. We have some good times and we are enjoying it.

Like every year at the Next Gen ATP Finals, the tournament will be trialling a lot of different rules and innovations. What are your thoughts on them? Is there one that you’re interested to try out?
No warm-ups. It’s going to be good or very bad. I don’t know if it’s possible to come on the court without a warm-up. You don’t play, you don’t hit one ball. So first serve, maybe you’re going to frame the ball or double fault. Some guys are going to be very good, and probably some others are going to be broken every time in the first game. Let’s see.

Is there another rule that you’re more excited about?

The free fan movement. I will love to see. I heard that it’s not behind us and in front of us, just on the side, so this should be good. It’s nice because it’s like in basketball and American football or soccer. It’s quite nice. We’ll see how it is.

You’ve had a great season, including winning your first ATP Tour title in Lyon. What is the biggest thing you learned from this year?
Never quit, because things can change very quickly. I would say that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned this year. I’ve played some matches and things were changing so quick, my opponent or I didn’t quit, and it was a great match, and we are enjoying playing this type of match. So never quit.