ATP Next Gen Finals: Which new rules should top-level tennis adopt?
Short sets, quick toilet trips & on-court coaching – do the innovative ATP Next Gen Finals offer a glimpse into tennis’ future? Vote for which rule you would like to see adopted.
Short sets, quick toilet trips & on-court coaching – do the innovative ATP Next Gen Finals offer a glimpse into tennis’ future? Vote for which rule you would like to see adopted.
Can it really be six years since Novak Djokovic won the Nitto ATP Finals?
When the Serb last held aloft the Brad Drewett trophy in 2015, after winning the season finale for the fourth consecutive year, it appeared inevitable that he would soon tie Roger Federer’s record six triumphs at the tournament.
It almost happened the very next year, but in a winner-takes-all championship match, Andy Murray claimed his 24th consecutive match win to pry the title – and the year-end World No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking – from the grasp of his lifelong rival.
Today Djokovic begins his quest for a sixth title against Casper Ruud, who at the other end of the spectrum, will play his first match at the tournament and will seek his first hard-court win over a Top 10 opponent.
After finishing runner-up to Alexander Zverev in 2018, Djokovic has not been back to the final despite stamping himself as the dominant player of the past decade, during which he joined Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam titles, passed Federer for most weeks at No. 1 and established a new record for 37 ATP Masters 1000 crowns.
After recently clinching year-end No. 1 for a record seventh time, the main order of business now for Djokovic is returning to the winner’s circle in Turin, where he hopes to lay claim to winning the finale in a third city following his first victory in Shanghai in 2008 and his four straight in London.
As a proponent of seeing the event rotate among the world’s great cities, winning in Turin would be extra special. “London was very successful for the Nitto ATP Finals,” said Djokovic. “It is one of the most spectacular arenas in the world [and] it couldn’t be a better setting really in front of a packed house each afternoon or evening. It was fitting for the most important event that the ATP owns. But I have always been a proponent of moving this tournament regularly, maybe every three or four years.”
Djokovic has compiled a 48-6 match record this season, including five tour-level titles. He went 27-1 in major championships, with titles at the Australian Open (d. Medvedev), Roland Garros (d. Tsitsipas) and Wimbledon (d. Berrettini). Daniil Medvedev stopped the 34-year-old in the US Open final from becoming the first player to complete the Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.
The 34-year-old Djokovic attempts to become the oldest Nitto ATP Finals champion and the second player to capture the title after turning 30. Federer won his sixth title in 2011 in London as a 30-year-old. With a victory on Monday, Djokovic will tie Ivan Lendl for the second-most wins (39) in Nitto ATP Finals history (Federer has 59).
One of Ruud’s biggest improvements this season is in his hard-court results. The 22-year-old came into the year with a 16-27 career record on hard courts and he enters Turin with a 23-8 record on hard this season, highlighted by his first title on the surface in San Diego (d. Norrie). He also reached five other quarter-finals, including at ATP Masters 1000 events in Toronto, Cincinnati and Paris. Overall the Norwegian has won an equal-tour-best five titles on the season.
Djokovic defeated Ruud 7-5, 6-3 in their lone meeting in Rome last year.
In the evening session, World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas brings a 4-3 head-to-head advantage against No. 5 Andrey Rublev. They met in round-robin play last year in London with Tsitsipas winning in a third set tie-break. The Greek native won their last meeting in the final at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo in April.
Tsitsipas, who won the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals and 2018 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals titles, is making his third straight appearance in the year-end championships. Rublev, who was runner-up in the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals, made his Nitto ATP Finals debut last year, going 1-2 in round-robin play.
The red-headed Russian is one of the most dangerous players off both wings who could weave a path of destruction this week, but he’s doing all he can to play down his chances. “I am not even thinking I have a chance or be a dark horse,” said Rublev. “I just want to focus on the process. What happened to Daniil, Stefanos and Sascha, winning the [Nitto] ATP Finals title, was because they proved they are top players, and they had the level to be here.
“In my case, I am thinking about the process and I’m happier about how I am doing things on and off the court. It may not happen immediately, but if I keep doing what I am doing, good things will happen and I’ll go deep in a tournament.”
[FOLLOW FINALS]
The Red Group in doubles features four teams that have each won multiple Grand Slam titles. In the opening match, No. 2 seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury take on No. 7 Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in a rematch of the US Open final won by the American/British duo.
In the second match, 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champions and 2018 finalists Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the No. 3 seeds, bring a 6-2 head-to-head advantage against Colombians No. 5 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. The Frenchmen won both Nitto ATP Finals meetings in 2018 (SF) and 2019 (RR).
ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2021
CENTRE COURT start 11:30 am
[2] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR) vs [7] J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA)
Not Before 2:00 pm
[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [8] C. Ruud (NOR)
Not Before 6:30 pm
[3] P. Herbert (FRA) / N. Mahut (FRA) vs [5] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL)
Not Before 9:00 pm
[4] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [5] A. Rublev (RUS)
Matteo Berrettini’s opening match on home soil at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin ended in disappointment Sunday after he was forced to retire due to an injury to his left oblique at the start of the second set.
However, it was not before the Italian had produced a strong first-set performance, in which he pushed Alexander Zverev to a tie-break, before falling 7/9. The sixth seed was backed by a vocal crowd throughout against the German in an electric atmosphere at the Pala Alpitour. It is the first time the season finale has been held in Turin.
“The atmosphere was one of the best I ever felt in my life,” Berrettini said. “It was unbelievable. That is probably why I feel so bad right now. Not being able to finish the match is killing me. It is just really tough to face. I really wanted to enjoy every second, that’s what we said as a team. The worst thing that could have happened, happened.”
[FOLLOW FINALS]Following the Australian Open in February, the 25-year-old was sidelined for two months due to an abdominal injury he suffered at the first major of the season. Berrettini admitted he is unsure, whether the injury, which forced him to retire against Zverev, is a recurrence of the same problem.
“It is mentally really tough for me because I used to have an injury close to the same area, so it is tough to play,” Berrettini said. “Also, I don’t know what it is. I have to figure out what it is and then if it is nothing really big, maybe I can play. Tomorrow with my team and the doctor I will do some checks and I hope it won’t be something that won’t let me play the next two matches.
“I just felt around the same area on the serve. I got scared and the mental part is the most important part. I remember coming back from that injury, to serve at full power I had to be brave, which is not easy when you felt something before. It was just impossible to keep playing.”
Berrettini, who lifted tour-level trophies in Belgrade and at the Queen’s Club earlier this year, was making his second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, having also qualified in 2019 when the event was held in London.
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini breaks down in tears after injury forces him to retire from his opening ATP Finals match in front of a passionate Turin crowd.
Matteo Berrettini’s homecoming was spoiled on Sunday evening at the Nitto ATP Finals when the Italian retired early in the second set of his match against Alexander Zverev due to an injury to his left oblique.
Zverev won a tightly contested first set 7-6(7) in 79 minutes and led 1-0 in the second set when Berrettini was unable to continue. Following a medical timeout, the home favourite attempted to continue. But after playing one more point, he walked to the net to shake hands. Zverev climbed over the net to embrace and console him.
“I don’t really know what to say, because this is the worst feeling a player can have,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “You play all year long to qualify for this beautiful tournament. For Matteo playing at home, this is the worst feeling I think he will ever have in his career.”
Berrettini walked onto centre court at the Pala Alpitour to thunderous applause with Man On A Mission by Oh The Larceny blaring from the loudspeakers. But injury cut his evening short.
“I thought the first set was incredibly high-level tennis. This is all not important,” Zverev said. “The most important thing is that both players at the end of the match can shake hands and are healthy. Today this is not the case. I think a lot of you guys, everybody here in Italy looked forward to seeing [Matteo] play all three matches, maybe the semi-finals, maybe the final.”
Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Zverev moves to 1-0 in Red Group play and will next play defending champion Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday. The German, who triumphed at the season finale in 2018, is now 9-7 at the event.
Both men showed tennis worthy of the primetime slot in the first set, when they blasted the ball from the baseline and showed calm under pressure. The Italian crowd was fully behind its man from the moment he walked onto the court. From singing battle cries to waving the Italian flag, the fans created a memorable atmosphere.
[FOLLOW FINALS]Zverev saved two set points when he served at 5-6, and on both occasions Berrettini missed a backhand return. The Italian’s first set point was his best opportunity, but he lost balance as he leapt to return a second serve and launched the return well long.
The German then rallied from 3/5 down in the tie-break and ultimately took the set after putting a forehand return from full stretch within inches of Berrettini’s baseline.
“I had a lot of chances, didn’t quite get the chance to use them. But at the end of the day, it was a good first set and I was happy to win it,” Zverev said. “But then of course things turned not so good after that.”
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos produced a spectacular comeback to open their 2021 Nitto ATP Finals account with a win.
On their second appearance at the season-ending finale as a team, Granollers and Zeballos saved four match points and came back from 1-4 down in the second set to beat Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek 4-6, 7-6(10), 10-6.
Dodig and Polasek had not played together since Wimbledon in July, where they lost in the second round to Jaume Munar and Cameron Norrie. In the interim, Granollers and Zeballos had reached the Wimbledon final and won their second ATP Masters 1000 title of the year in Cincinnati. Despite the hiatus in their partnership, the Croatian-Slovakian duo proved as lethal in the early stages of the match in Turin as they had in Melbourne in January. But in the long run, it was the more polished pairing who prevailed.
In a tightly-contested first set, it was the returning prowess of Polasek that made the difference. With Zeballos serving at 4-5, the door was opened for the Croatian-Slovakian pairing with Zeballos’ first double fault of the set followed by a dazzling forehand return winner from Polasek for 15-30. A clever shot from Dodig forced an error for two set points and the sixth seeds immediately converted with another lethal forehand from Polasek.
Dodig and Polasek appeared to have the match well in hand when they broke for 3-1 in the second set, proving able to read the Zeballos serve effectively once more. But the Wimbledon finalists found their own returning game in the nick of time, breaking Dodig’s serve to 15 to get back on serve for 3-4.
Dodig and Granollers have played at the Nitto ATP Finals as both opponents and partners in the past, and the Croatian read the Spaniard’s serve to perfection to set up three match points only for Granollers to fend off all three with some of his best deliveries of the match.
Momentum continued to oscillate in the ensuing tie-break. Dodig and Polasek saved four set points, while Zeballos produced the shot of the match off the forehand wing to erase a fourth match point.
But it was the doubles savvy of Granollers, the only one of the four to have won the season-ending championships in the past, which made the difference as he and Zeballos converted their fifth set point to reach a match tie-break.
Semi-finalists at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2020, Granollers and Zeballos thoroughly dominated the match tie-break to secure their 25th match win of the season.
The comeback victory sees Granollers and Zeballos move into second place in the Green Group behind top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who secured a straight-sets victory over Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau in the opening match of the Nitto ATP Finals.
Chinese player Peng Shuai deserves “to be heard, not censored” after publicly accusing the country’s former vice-premier of sexual assault, says the Women’s Tennis Association.
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev believes that the conditions at the Pala Alpitour in Turin are among the fastest on the ATP Tour, leaving no clear favourite for the Nitto ATP Finals.
“I think I prefer fast conditions, but this is probably the fastest I’ve ever faced on the ATP Tour,” said Medvedev, who beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in their first Green Group match on Sunday.
“I don’t think it’s the surface itself, because it’s probably the same as in London. But I think it’s a combination of the air, which is drier here. The ball goes very fast through the air. The balls are fast and… in the match, I was barely under pressure on my serve against a great returner.”
The Russian beat Dominic Thiem in last year’s title match at The O2 in London, but feels that he may have his work cut out this week to retain The Brad Drewett Trophy.
“I know I won in London last year, it was still the Nitto ATP Finals, but everything is different [in Turin], the venue and hotel,” said Medvedev. “I feel that there may be a new winner in Turin.”
With a three-set victory over Hurkacz in just over two hours, Medvedev insists he now wants to watch the matches to see how his rivals cope with the court speed.
“It was super-fast,” said Medvedev, who warmed up for the match with Swiss Jerome Kym. “I want to watch the other three matches to see how they cope with the speed. For Hubi and I, it was a case of who makes one good shot in the point. I wonder if it’s the same for the other guys.”
[FOLLOW FINALS]At 6’6”, Medvedev moves very well, but the World No. 2 admitted that he wouldn’t win a 100-metre sprint between fellow ATP Tour players.
“When I did tests with the [Russian] Federation, when I was younger, I never did well,” said Medvedev. “I didn’t have good coordination to have a fast start and follow my pace in 100 metres, as it’s so different to what we’re doing on a court.
“I’d want to put [Alex] de Minaur there as he is super-fast, and Gael Monfils is impossible to hit winners against, as he is so explosive. I’m not sure if Novak would be good at 100 metres, but I may be mistaken!”
Medvedev has compiled a 55-12 record with four tour-level titles this season, including the US Open crown (d. Djokovic).
Hubert Hurkacz was determined to take the positives from his debut match at the Nitto ATP Finals despite defeat at the hands of Daniil Medvedev.
From the round-robin format to the small but elite field, the season-ending finale can be an overwhelming experience for a first-time competitor. But Hurkacz did not appear overawed by the occasion, taking the first set before Medvedev, the defending champion, turned things around to win 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.
“Definitely I played on a decent level. I can do even better than this,” Hurkacz said.
“I still have a chance to qualify from the group, it’s great. I’ll just keep fighting and then keep believing in myself.”
Both players had deep runs at the Rolex Paris Masters – Hurkacz reaching the semi-finals, Medvedev finishing runner-up – and had clearly brought their form and confidence to the Nitto ATP Finals’ new home in Turin. The first singles match of the tournament was heavily dominated by serve, with Hurkacz unable to create a break point on Medvedev’s serve while the second and third sets were decided by a single early break for the Russian.
Medvedev commented on the speed of the court at the Pala Alpitour in his post-match interview, and Hurkacz was quick to agree. “Here is way faster [than Paris],” he said.
“I mean the surface could be close but the balls make a huge difference, so it’s quite fast here. Daniil was serving great, I was serving decent apart from two games, it’s quite quick here.”
He added: “I think it’s just getting used to the surface, plus we both have decent serves, so maybe we both didn’t return as well as we hoped – me, for sure. When there’s a rally we can play some really good rallies, that’s what Daniil likes to do.”
Hurkacz dropped just five points behind his first serve in the first two sets, but his first-serve percentage dropped noticeably after winning the first-set tie-break. The disappointed Pole paid tribute to Medvedev’s greater consistency across the three sets after the Russian improved to 2-1 in their head-to-head.
“Daniil is an amazing player, he plays great tennis throughout the whole match. He doesn’t have dips in his game, that makes him such a tough opponent.”
[FOLLOW FINALS]Miami Open champion Hurkacz has already amply demonstrated his resilience in 2021, bouncing back from a six-match losing streak in the midst of the season to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals and ultimately qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
“I’ll just try to stay positive,” Hurkacz vowed. “OK, I lost this match, but I’ll think about the positives and what I can do better and prepare for the next one.”
Hurkacz can take comfort from the fact that Medvedev himself went 0-3 on his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals before winning his next six matches at the season-ending championships. But the Pole will aim to turn things around a little faster. He will face Alexander Zverev or Matteo Berrettini in his next match on Tuesday in what could be another big-serving duel.
Daniil Medvedev made a successful start to his Nitto ATP Finals title defence on Sunday afternoon with a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 victory against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, moving to 1-0 in Red Group action.
The Russian, who earned his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and his maiden major at the US Open, showed his confidence by staying calm after losing the first set. The World No. 2 battled back behind impressive serving and steady baseline play to triumph after two hours and one minute.
“I had zero break points to save, so in a way I was never under pressure,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I had only two games on Hubert’s serve where I had break points. Super happy to make this work and [that I] managed to get both breaks.”
Medvedev has won 23 of his past 26 matches, with 19 of his triumphs during that stretch coming in straight sets. After going 0-3 on his debut at the season finale two years ago, he has now claimed six consecutive victories at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Tournament debutant Hurkacz competed well in his first match at the event, showing great hands at net and no fear of moving into the forecourt. But he never found a way to challenge his opponent’s serve, and that proved costly.
Hurkacz played a tremendous tie-break to move ahead, and there was no doubt this year’s Miami Open presented by Itau champion could handle the moment, having beaten Medvedev at Wimbledon earlier this year. But Medvedev buckled down in longer rallies and consistently made the extra ball.
After winning the second set and hitting a smash to break early in the third set, Medvedev won perhaps the point of the match and waved his arms to get the Turin crowd involved. On the 29th shot of the rally — in which he played dogged defence — Medvedev hit a stunning backhand passing shot.
“I remember this point because that’s the only point in the match where I could actually interact with the crowd a little bit,” Medvedev said. “Other than that, it was aces, winners and unforced errors.”
Medvedev did not face a break point in the match and won 83 per cent of his first-serve points. The World No. 2 hit 15 aces and in his service games rarely gave Hurkacz an opportunity to step into the court.
The other two players in the Red Group are Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini, who will play not before 9 p.m. in Italy on Sunday evening.
Did You Know?
Medvedev (55-12) is now tied for the most tour-level wins this season, joining Stefanos Tsitsipas (55-18) and Zverev (55-14).
