Get To Know 2018 Newcomer Nominees

Every year, new faces break out on the ATP World Tour. This season has been no different.

ATP World Tour players will vote for the Newcomer of the Year in the 2018 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon, with eligible players being #NextGenATP competitors who have cracked the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time this season (as of 15 October). The nominees are as follows:

ALEX DE MINAUR
(Age 19, Career-high No. 31 on 15 October)
Alex de Minaur began the 2018 season at No. 208 in the ATP Rankings, with just two tour-level match wins to his name. But the 19-year-old Aussie has taken the ATP World Tour by storm, climbing to his career-best of No. 31.

Read: 5 Things To Know About De Minaur

Not only did De Minaur qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held in Milan from 6-10 November, but the teenager has become a consistent threat week-in and week-out. De Minaur reached his first two tour-level finals at the Sydney International and Citi Open in Washington, D.C., and he also claimed his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Nottingham.

UGO HUMBERT
(Age 20, Career-high No. 99 on 15 October)
Ugo Humbert’s second ATP Challenger Tour title came at the perfect time, as Humbert rode the momentum of his victory in Ortisei, Italy, into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings on 15 October. It’s an impressive rise, considering the 20-year-old Frenchman owned just five main draw Challenger match wins before beginning the Gatineau Challenger in July.

Read: Humbert’s Milan Charge, Rises To Ninth With Ortisei Crown

After starting that event as the World No. 257, Humbert won 23 of 27 Challenger matches to soar to a career-best ranking. Humbert earned his first two tour-level match wins in the past two months, qualifying for the US Open, where he advanced to the second round, and defeating Bernard Tomic at the Moselle Open in Metz.

HUBERT HURKACZ
(Age 21, Career-high No. 88 on 15 October)
This time last season, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz was outside the Top 400 of the ATP Rankings. But the #NextGenATP 21-year-old has combined strong efforts at tour-level as well as the ATP Challenger Tour to soar into the Top 100, reaching a career-high No. 88 on 15 October.

Read: Hurkacz Wants To Climb ‘As High As Possible’

“I was imagining that I can be here,” Hurkacz said. “But obviously it was a very long way away.”

Hurkacz claimed his maiden Challenger trophy in Pozan, Poland, and also advanced to the final in Zhuhai, China, earlier in the season. The Pole has tallied six tour-level match wins in 2018 after beginning the year with just one.   

MICHAEL MMOH
(Age 20, Career-high No. 96 on 1 October)
Michael Mmoh has found the best form of his career in the second half of 2018, propelling himself into the Top 100 with success at both tour-level and the Challenger circuit. The 20-year-old American advanced to his second ATP World Tour quarter-final (also Brisbane in January) at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex in Los Cabos before going on a tear at the Challenger level, winning back-to-back titles in Columbus and Tiburon, both in the United States.

Read: From Riyadh To Bradenton To Milan? Mmoh’s Journey Speeds Up

While Mmoh remained between No. 140 and No. 200 in the ATP Rankings from November 2016 and April 2018, his surge helped him crack the Top 100 for the first time on 1 October. All six of Mmoh’s tour-level match wins have come in 2018.

JAUME MUNAR
(Age 21, Career-high No. 79 on 8 October)
Jaume Munar joins Mmoh as players in this group to lift back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour trophies in 2018. And not only did the Spaniard triumph in Prostejov, Czech Republic, and Caltanissetta, Italy, but he carried that momentum even after he broke into the Top 100 on 18 June.

Munar made his maiden ATP World Tour semi-final at the Generali Open, where he lost to eventual champion Martin Klizan. The Spaniard then won two matches at the Winston-Salem Open, including a victory over fellow #NextGenATP competitor Andrey Rublev.