The Nitto ATP Finals has arrived. All eight singles players competing in the season finale are champions — they have combined to claim 26 titles between them in 2022.

But only one man will emerge the ultimate champion from the Pala Alpitour.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have claimed plenty of hardware in their historic careers. The all-time greats own 182 tour-level crowns between them. Djokovic has been particularly successful at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he can tie Roger Federer’s record of six season finale titles this year.

Nadal, a 17-time qualifier for the year-end championships, will try to earn glory at the tournament for the first time. The Spaniard is as eager as always to give his all on court.

“When I enter a tennis tournament, I want to win and I’m going to try my best to achieve that goal,” Nadal told ATP Media on Friday. “Here I was not able to make it, I was not good enough to make it in the past. So I just accept that and I’m happy to give myself another chance at the age of 36 — something, for me, that was difficult to imagine years ago.”

Djokovic and Nadal have shown their champion qualities for years. The rest of the field is 26 or younger.

^{Photo Credit: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images}
That has not prevented them from shining, however. The other players competing in Turin have followed the #NextGenATP path to success. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz have all played the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, while Felix Auger-Aliassime qualified for the event. Alternates Holger Rune and Hubert Hurkacz also competed in Milan.

Now some of the Tour’s brightest young champions will try to become champion once more this season. The most in-form player on the circuit is Auger-Aliassime, who won 16 of his final 17 matches this year to earn his spot in Turin, lifting trophies in Florence, Antwerp and Basel.

“I remember watching [the Nitto ATP Finals] for the first time in my early teenage years,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I remember just being inspired by it and feeling that it would be amazing to be a part of that. Now that I’m here, it’s a full-circle moment. It’s really special and I hope it’s not the last time.”

The #NextGenATP pipeline is one to continue watching in the future. Eleven players who have competed in Milan (since 2017) have cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Two of them, Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz, have reached World No. 1.

Tsitsipas holds the distinction of winning the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in 2018 and triumphing at the Nitto ATP Finals the next. He will try to earn tennis’ ultimate prize again this year, when he can also claim year-end World No. 1 by winning all five of his matches in Turin. The Greek will need to battle past Djokovic, Medvedev and Rublev in Red Group.

“It’s not meant to be easy, is it? These kind of events you don’t get very often during the year. It’s the only event that is so demanding in terms of the intensity [being] so high,” Tsitsipas said. “Regardless of who you are going to be drawn with, it just simply doesn’t matter. All these players can play. We are quite even.

“Until we go out on the court… it’s the hard work that you have to instil to get away with a good result. Nothing falls out of place.”

Who will become the champion of champions this week? Tune into the biggest event of the year.

Of the 16 doubles players competing at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals, seven are making their first appearance at the season-ending event. Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara are two of those debutants, and the British-Finnish pair is relishing the opportunity to compete in Turin.

“It’s a highlight [of my career],” Glasspool told ATPTour.com at the pre-tournament media day on Saturday. “It’s something I will remember forever, hopefully my first of many. The first one, and even if this is it, I will definitely remember it. It’s a reward for a very good, consistent and hard-working two years.”

The British-Finnish duo is no stranger to the big stage, having reached quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the US Open and lifting their maiden ATP 500 title in Hamburg this season. Heliovaara is confident that the pair is ready to shine in the spotlight once again when they take to court in the intense atmosphere of the Pala Alpitour.

“I don’t think it will add nerves,” said the Finn. “It’s obviously interesting. Our first time here, so everything is new, but also everything is super nice. Huge stadium, a lot of people. It’s exciting but I’m pretty sure it’s going to make us play better.”

_{^{Ivan Dodig, Mate Pavic, Nikola Mektic and Wesley Koolhof. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.}}

Glasspool and Heliovaara’s opening match on Sunday at 11:30 a.m (CET) is also the first of the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. There will be another debutant on the other side of the net in Marcelo Arevalo, although the Salvadoran has the considerable experience of his partner, 2015 champion Jean-Julien Rojer, to fall back on.

“Playing with Jules, it means a lot to me, too, because I know his career,” said Arevalo, who won his maiden Grand Slam title alongside Rojer in June at Roland Garros. “He’s been on Tour so many years, more than me, so I try to squeeze a little of his experience every day. It makes me also more calm, and more secure to get into these events playing with someone next to me that has already been in this situation before. So I think that’s a nice feeling.”

_{^{Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer in Turin. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}

Austin Krajicek also has the benefit of an experienced partner beside him. The American partners Ivan Dodig, set to compete at the event for the eighth time, with the duo arriving in Turin off the back of a stunning late-season charge that saw them win 14 of 16 matches on European hard courts and lift trophies in Naples and Basel.

“Ivan has a tonne of experience playing at the year-end finals, so I think we will work together as a team,” said Krajicek. “Ivan [offers] great leadership, and I think we are just excited to compete like we have been doing the past six months, and especially in the past couple of tournaments, and hopefully we can have a great result.”

_{^{Austin Krajicek and Ivan Dodig. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.}}

Still very early in his pro career, Ben Shelton is not letting any teachable moment go unlearned as he continues to make big progress on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Following heartbreaking losses in the Rome (Georgia), Chicago, and Tiburon Challenger finals, Shelton was left looking for answers on why he hadn’t lifted a Challenger trophy yet.

“I got to a point where I felt hopeless on court,” Shelton told Challenger Tour commentator Mike Cation. “Second round of Fairfield and second round of Las Vegas, I felt like I was the one getting attacked. Especially against Earnesto Escobedo [in Las Vegas].

“I’m okay with losing, but if I don’t do everything I can competitively to give myself a chance to win, that really upsets me. Coming out of Las Vegas, I was like, ‘That’s never going to happen again’. I’m not going to go down in the dumps and not give a full fight.”

Shelton was determined to get rid of his championship match struggles and it was only a matter of time before the lefty would be crowned champion.

A close friend offered Shelton some help. Christopher Eubanks, World No. 120 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, had a key conversation with Shelton at the Charlottesville Challenger. Little did the two know that they would meet in Sunday’s championship match.

“It was actually Chris [Eubanks] who told me a couple days before the final, he said, ‘You can’t help yourself with those [negative] thoughts that come into your mind’, Shelton said. “They are going to come, right after the point, you’re going to have a reaction, but how do you flip the script before you start the next point?’ When I was upset this week, I went into the next point bouncing, getting the negative energy out and turning it into a fire in my belly.”

Shelton survived the former Georgia Tech University standout 7-6(4), 7-5 and following the match they didn’t go into the locker room and call it a day. Instead, Eubanks drove Shelton to the airport so he could travel to the Knoxville Challenger.

Christopher Eubanks (left) and Ben Shelton following the Charlottesville Challenger final. Credit: Allen Hoover

“There’s not a guy I would’ve rather played in the final,” Shelton said. “Nobody really understands what Chris has done for me. The support he’s given me is unmatched. He’s a selfless human being and a big brother to me.”

Shelton, who is coached by his father (Bryan, former World No. 55), has been building upon his NCAA singles title in May. The former University of Florida star is already making a sudden impact on the Challenger Tour. Since claiming the college crown, Shelton has reached seven Challenger semi-finals, including this week in Knoxville, and boasts a 28-8 Challenger match record in 2022. In Charlottesville, the 20-year-old dropped just one set en route to the title.

“I went in with a mindset that I was going to out compete everybody,” Shelton said. “I was going to bring more energy than everyone I played. I think that was a really big part of my success this week.”

Tennis fans have been keeping an eye on the rising American star. This summer, Shelton earned his maiden Tour-level win at the ATP 250 event in Atlanta (d. Ramanathan). The following month, Shelton stunned then-World No. 5 Casper Ruud at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open. And Shelton’s game is only improving.

Ben Shelton at the 2022 Western & Southern Open. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour

“One piece [that has improved] is the return,” Shelton said. “If I played the final against Chris [Eubanks] in June, I don’t know how many returns I would’ve put in play. I think my defence has improved. I’m pretty good when I’m on offence but I was looking at some stats early in the summer and I was pretty poor in being able to win points when I got behind in the rally.

“I have a better understanding of how to use my serve and not just go after it hard every single time but mix it around, hitting some slow sliders from time to time.”

Shelton, who started the year as No. 573 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is now at a career-high 128. The American hopes to use his newfound mindset to continue imposing his will on opponents.

“It starts with the mentality of what you do in between the points,” Shelton said. “I’m not dwelling on every single point whether I win or lose. If I make a bad error, I can laugh it off… I’m just taking everything that I can get right now, enjoying everything that I have and not stressing too much.”

For the second time in four days, Brandon Nakashima and Jiri Lehecka will square off at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. In Saturday’s title match, the fourth-seeded Nakashima will bid to complete a perfect week by becoming an undefeated champion, while fifth seed Lehecka seeks revenge after a round-robin defeat against the American on Wednesday.

In a 4-1, 4-3(2), 4-2 victory, Nakashima used an attacking game plan — particularly off his powerful forehand wing — to defeat the Czech.

“He plays a very solid game, very flat, a very progressive game, so I knew I had to minimise the errors on my side and try to be aggressive off the first ball as much as possible,” Nakashima said after the mach. “I thought I did that pretty well today, so [I am] happy to get the win.”

Lehecka had his moments in the 68-minute match, firing 18 winners to Nakashima’s 21, and he led 2-0 in the final set before the American used a finishing flourish to close the door.

The aggressive nature of both players was further demonstrated by the rally lengths in the contest. 80 of the match’s 112 points lasted four shots or fewer, with Nakashima winning 45 of those short points to his opponent’s 35. The first-strike mentality also holds true on return for Nakashima and Lehecka, with 16 break points created between the two in their round-robin match.

While Nakashima can take confidence from the win in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting, the American is not putting too much stock in the result.

“Tomorrow it is going to be a new match. I am going to try and forget about our match a couple of days ago,” he said after a 4-3(6), 1-4, 4-2, 4-3(5) semi-final win against Jack Draper. “Jiri has been playing great all week, so I am sure it is going to be a tough one.”

Lehecka spoiled the previously unblemished Milan record of Dominic Stricker in the Friday’s semi-finals. He will look to do the same to Nakashima in the title match to prevent the American from matching the 5-0 mark of past champions Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Hyeon Chung.

The Czech’s 4-1, 4-3(4), 2-4, 4-1 win against Stricker was reward for a strong all-court performance in which he stepped inside the baseline at every opportunity. 

“Today I think everything went the way I wanted,” Lehecka said post-match. “Me and my team spoke about this match yesterday and today and the plan was just to relax on the court and enjoy it as much as I can.”

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The Czech’s breakthrough run to the Rotterdam semi-finals as a qualifier in February should help him stay relaxed in the high-pressure final, and he also lifted an ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Liberec this season as he rose from No. 141 to No. 74 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

World No. 49 Nakashima has plenty of experience late in tournaments as well, having won his first ATP Tour title in his home city of San Diego in September — not to mention his semi-final run last year in Milan.

Adding to the pressure for both 21-year-olds: This will be their last chance to claim the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals trophy, as both will age out of the competition next year.

As the season’s best eight players gear up for the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals, the competitors spoke to the media and interacted with fans at Turin’s Gallerie d’Italia on Friday.

ATPTour.com goes behind-the-scenes to look at some of the fun ahead of the season finale, which begins Sunday.

Brandon Nakashima maintained his perfect record at this year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals Friday when he moved past Briton Jack Draper 4-3(6), 1-4, 4-2, 4-3(5) to reach the final in Milan.

The American went 3-0 in the round-robin stage and produced another ruthless performance at the Allianz Cloud to earn his 34th tour-level win of the season. The fourth seed fired his watertight backhand with fierce power, while he opened his shoulders to take large cuts on his forehand in a heavy-hitting clash that entertained the packed crowd.

“It was very high quality from both of us the whole match,” Nakashima said. “I was fighting for every point and I was happy to close it out at the end. We have both had a great year and both had great wins against top players. I knew it was going to be a tough match, he has a great lefty serve. I knew I had to be quick on my feet. I am happy I played well.”

The 21-year-old blasted 29 winners on the fast-paced court and rallied from 2-5 in the fourth-set tie-break, converting on his second match point to advance after one hour and 38 minutes. He will face Jiri Lehecka in the final after the Czech defeated Dominic Stricker 4-1, 4-3(4), 2-4, 4-1.

Nakashima is making his second appearance in Milan, having fallen at the semi-final stage last year. Earlier this week, the World No. 49 downed Matteo Arnaldi, Lehecka and Francesco Passaro to top the Green Group.

“I have a lot of confidence in my game right now,” Nakashima said. “Tomorrow it is going to be a new match. I am going to try and forget about our match a couple of days ago. Jiri has been playing great all week, so I am sure it is going to be a tough one.”

Nakashima has enjoyed an impressive season, highlighted by his maiden title run on home soil in San Diego in September. The 21-year-old also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the third round at Roland Garros and the US Open.

Draper started the season at No. 265 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but competed in Milan at No. 41 after a breakthrough year. The British lefty, who went 2-1 in the Red Group, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal, while he won four ATP Challenger Tour crowns.