Korda, Nakashima Among #NextGenATP Stars Hard At Work In Milan
The time is almost here. The stars of the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals have started to arrive in Milan, where they are working hard at the Allianz Cloud in preparation for the 21-and-under season finale.
Americans Brandon Nakashima and Sebastian Korda as well as Argentines Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez were on site Saturday practising before the start of the event, which will be played from 9-13 November. All four players are making their tournament debut.
Nakashima has enjoyed a breakthrough 2021 season by rising from No. 170 in the FedEx ATP Rankings to his current career-high No. 65. The 20-year-old became the youngest American since Andy Roddick in 2001-02 to reach multiple tour-level finals when he enjoyed runs to the championship match in Los Cabos and Atlanta.
Korda arrives in Milan in form, having defeated Aslan Karatsev and Marin Cilic en route to the third round at the Rolex Paris Masters. The 21-year-old has enjoyed success in Italy, where he captured his maiden tour-level title in Parma in May.
Argentine pair Baez and Cerundolo are the first South Americans to qualify in the tournament’s history. Umag champion Carlos Alcaraz, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, Denmark’s Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune and Frenchman Hugo Gaston round out the field.