View FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups for the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals and vote for who you think will win!
 Sock vs. Benneteau | Isner vs. Krajinovic

View Daily Schedule

 Watch Live On TennisTV

The Next Generation of the ATP World Tour met the future stars of Italian football on Friday in Milan.

Ahead of next week’s Next Gen ATP Finals, South Korea’s Hyeon Chung was visited by 18-year-old Andrea Pinamonti, a striker for Inter Milan, and 19-year-old Manuel Locatelli, a midfielder for AC Milan.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Chung. “I’ve never met a soccer player before, so I was really happy to do that. I’d like to do that again soon.”

The meet-and-greet was held at the Serie A head office in Milan. #NextGenATP Chung, who sits at No. 55 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, took photos with the duo and did a tennis/football quiz, where they helped each other answer questions about their respective sports. At the end, they swapped shirts and signed autographs for each other.

Chung is the lone Asian-born player in the Next Gen ATP Finals field. The eight-player tournament will be held 7-11 November at the Fiera Milano. The 21-year-old reached a career-high of No. 44 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in September, a few weeks after making his third quarter-final of the season at the Winston-Salem Open. He also claimed his eighth ATP Challenger Tour title in Maui in January.

“It’s the last tournament of the season, so I want to stay strong to the finish. Everyone here is playing well and I’m happy to be a part of this.”

A “Next-Gen” meetup! Chung meets @SerieA_TIM’s next generation, AC Milan’s Manuel Locatelli and Inter Milan’s Andrea Pinamonti! #NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/4Rxaxc2g7J

— Next Gen ATP Finals (@nextgenfinals) November 3, 2017

Jack Sock’s dreams of London are still alive.

The American’s chances of qualifying for his first Nitto ATP Finals looked bleak at the beginning of the week, when he was 24th in the Emirates ATP Race To London. But after fending off a tough challenge from the in-form Fernando Verdasco, 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the semi-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters, Sock is within two wins of becoming the final player to qualify for the year-end finale.

It is the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final of the 25-year-old’s career, with the first coming earlier this year at Indian Wells. But perhaps more importantly, Sock has a realistic chance at soaring up the Race standings to become one of the more unlikely Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers in recent memory.

If Sock claims the trophy in Paris, he will overtake Pablo Carreno Busta for the eighth and final spot in London. The only other contender is Sock’s friend and compatriot, John Isner, who plays qualifier Filip Krajinovic in one of Saturday’s semi-finals. If Isner wins the tournament, he will be the final qualifier to book his spot at The O2 from 12-19 November.

It was not easy to get through Verdasco, whose big left-handed forehand gave Sock all kinds of fits in the final match of the day on Court Central. In the deciding set, the Spaniard earned a break point in the first game to gain the advantage, but Sock hung on and broke in the very next game to earn a lead he would not relinquish. While Verdasco battled, saving four match points on his serve at 2-5, the American closed out the match without complications, capturing the win on his fifth match point.

It will not get any easier for Sock, who next will deal with home favourite Julien Benneteau, who also is playing in his second Masters 1000 semi-final. The Frenchman won the only previous match in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, taking down Sock three years ago in Shanghai. He is certainly in good form, having defeated third-seeded Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals.

It has been a roller coaster of a week for Sock, who trailed Kyle Edmund 1-5 in the third set of his first-round match. From being out of the tournament and moving onto 2018, Sock now has the biggest opportunity of his career.

If the Nebraskan does manage to earn his first Masters 1000 trophy, which would be his third title of the year, he will also earn a new career-high ranking inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

 Watch Full Match Replays

It was already an eventful day in Bercy. But the last Frenchman in the draw wouldn’t let Friday end without producing more excitement.

Julien Benneteau continued his dream run at his final Rolex Paris Masters, advancing to his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final (2014 Shanghai) with a victory over the highest seed remaining, No. 3 Marin Cilic, 7-6(5), 7-5.

“I believe that win ranks quite high in everything I achieved in my career,” Benneteau said. “When it’s over, we’ll see what will be the final ranking. It’s a bit early to say. But, of course, individually, I believe it’s my most beautiful emotion ever.”

Benneteau’s triumph came in what was only his fifth Masters 1000 quarter-final. And despite winning the 2014 Roland Garros doubles title among 12 doubles tournament wins, the Frenchman has never won an ATP World Tour singles trophy. The home favourite will look to move into his 11th tour-level singles final (0-10) on Saturday against the winner of 16th-seeded Jack Sock and the in-form Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco.

What better way to earn a first title than in his final Masters 1000 event on home soil?

Benneteau’s win on Friday was the wild card’s first victory over Cilic, who had previously led their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-0. It came after Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event earlier on Friday due to a right knee injury, making Cilic the de facto favourite to claim his second Masters 1000 title. Juan Martin del Potro, who was arguably the hottest player on tour, lost to ninth seed John Isner on Friday.

Yet it was Benneteau who stole the spotlight. Cilic battled throughout their match, breaking back in both sets, but it was the Frenchman who rode the energy shared by the raucous crowd despite showing fatigue. With Cilic serving to stay in the match at 5-6, Benneteau stepped into an inside-out forehand that his opponent could not reach, sending the Court Central fans into a frenzy.

“Yesterday was enormous. It was fantastic. I had good feelings, the way I hit the ball, everything. Today was good tennis-wise,” said Benneteau, who added that Cilic’s forehand, tactics, adjustments he had to make and more made today’s win very difficult. “All this brought together, it’s maybe my most accomplished match.”

Benneteau threw his racquet to the ground and almost immediately burst into tears, having secured his first win over a player in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since Shanghai in 2014 (No. 10 Dimitrov) and his first victory over a Top 5 opponent since Cincinnati that same year (No. 4 Wawrinka).

 Watch Full Match Replays