The BBC and ATP have today announced an extension to their broadcast deal for the Nitto ATP Finals which will see the tournament broadcast live in 2019 and 2020. The deal is for exclusive free-to-air TV rights for eight singles matches, including a semi-final and the final, and includes the right to stream these matches across the BBC’s online platforms, as well as non-exclusive radio rights for the whole tournament.  The deal also includes non-exclusive radio rights to all ATP World Tour Masters 1000 matches.

The Nitto ATP Finals is the climax to the men’s professional season, featuring the best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams battling it out for the last title of the season. 2016 saw Andy Murray seal a fairytale end to the year as he defeated Novak Djokovic to win his first Nitto ATP Finals title and end the year as the world number one. 

BBC Director of Sport, Barbara Slater, said: “We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with ATP ensuring top class tennis continues to reach the widest possible audience on free to air TV, radio and our live streaming service.”

Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “The BBC has provided a terrific platform for our season finale since we moved the tournament to London in 2009, giving millions of fans in the UK the opportunity to watch the very best in men’s professional tennis. We’re delighted to extend our partnership a further two years through to 2020.”

The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals take place from 12-19 November live on the BBC.

From thrilling innovations including electronic line-calling, playing lets and usage of a shot clock to amazing tennis played by eight of the best 21-and-under tennis players in the world, the first day of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals was one to remember.

But after the historic opening day, the intensity will only continue to build. Four players have an opportunity to advance to the semi-finals on Wednesday.

In Group A play, top seed Andrey Rublev and No. 6 seed Hyeon Chung play each other for the second time this season. In August, Chung rallied to win 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open. That will be the second match on Centrale.

Rublev opened with a five-set victory over Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi to close play on Tuesday, while Chung overcame a set deficit to defeat Denis Shapovalov.

In the other Group A match, Shapovalov and Quinzi meet for the first time in the opening match of the night session. Shapovalov is the youngest player and only teenager in the field, rising from No. 11 to No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan after reaching the Montreal semi-finals.

Quinzi, who received a wild card into the event after winning an Italian 21-and-under wild card event, pushed Rublev to five set and is looking for his second tour-level win.

In Group B action, the opening match of the day features No. 2 seed Karen Khachanov and fifth-seeded Jared Donaldson in a first-time meeting. Khachanov lost to countryman Daniil Medvedev in four sets in the opening match of the tournament, while Donaldson fell to Borna Coric in straight sets.

Khachanov has posted a career-high 25 wins this season, and his American opponent has registered a personal-best 21 wins.

In the final match of the evening session, Coric and Medvedev square off for the first time. Coric, who turns 21 on 14 November, has exceeded 20 wins in three straight seasons, and has won 22 victories this year. He defeated both Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray on two occasions.

Medvedev has compiled an up-and-down year, highlighted by six quarter-final finishes, a semi-final run at Eastbourne and a maiden final in Chennai. The 21-year-old from Moscow is trying to even his record on the season (23-24). He reached a career-high No. 48 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on 24 July.

Each of the players who won on Tuesday have an opportunity to advance to the semi-finals on the second day of play. Those scenarios are as follows:

GROUP A:

RUBLEV qualifies on Wednesday IF:

— RUBLEV defeats CHUNG and QUINZI defeats SHAPOVALOV.

CHUNG qualifies on Wednesday IF:

— CHUNG defeats RUBLEV in 3 sets

— CHUNG defeats RUBLEV and SHAPOVALOV defeats QUINZI.

GROUP B:

CORIC qualifies on Wednesday IF:

— CORIC defeats MEDVEDEV in 3 sets.

— CORIC defeats MEDVEDEV and DONALDSON defeats KHACHANOV.

— CORIC defeats MEDVEDEV in 4 sets and KHACHANOV defeats DONALDSON in 5 sets.

MEDVEDEV qualifies on Wednesday IF:

— MEDVEDEV defeats CORIC and KHACHANOV defeats DONALDSON.

— MEDVEDEV defeats CORIC in 3 sets and DONALDSON defeats KHACHANOV in 5 sets.

Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi must have felt like it was 2013 again. The former junior World No. 1, who won the 2013 Wimbledon boys junior title, was even with top seed Andrey Rublev for 90 minutes on Tuesday at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

The 21-year-old Quinzi had recovered from blowout sets, pushed through exhaustion and found a way to extend the favoured Rublev into a fifth set. But it was late in that decider when the 20-year-old Rublev, already an ATP World Tour titlist, focused on the end goal and sprinted to the finish.

The Russian won 11 of the final 14 points against the home favourite to avoid a stunning opening loss, beating Quinzi 1-4, 4-0, 4-3(3), 0-4, 4-3(3) to conclude Day 1 in Milan.

Rublev won his first title in July on the clay in Umag and has been one of the front-runners of the #NextGenATP group since his triumph. At the US Open, the right-hander beat Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers David Goffin and Grigor Dimitrov en route to becoming the youngest quarter-finalist in New York since Andy Roddick in 2001.

The 6’2” Russian reached another quarter-final in October at the China Open in Beijing. But he had trouble against Quinzi, who was playing with momentum and a home crowd.

The Italian had won three consecutive matches in the 21-and-under Italian Next Gen ATP Finals Qualifying tournament last weekend to make the Next Gen ATP Finals. And during the qualifying tournament, Quinzi had become accustomed to some of the new rules and innovations taking place this week in Milan, including the shorter format: first to four games sets and no ad scoring.

Quinzi darted to start the match, blanking Rublev in the opener. But the Italian felt fatigued in the second. During his conference with his coach after the second set, Quinzi said, “Physically, I’m dead.” Rublev also raised his level in the third, saving all three break points.

But Quinzi recovered well in the fourth before the Russian played his most consistent tennis late in the fifth set.

They say that one point could change a match. That rang plenty true in the third match of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals.

Borna Coric used a line-clipping return down set point in the first set to turn his opening match of the tournament around before ousting Jared Donaldson, 4-3(2), 4-1, 4-3(5), on Tuesday evening.

The American appeared to be control, having broken at 2-2 in the opener. But on a deciding-point deuce, the Croatian lunged out wide for a forehand, which he sent flying crosscourt off the edge of the line to save the set and with it, gain all the momentum he needed to storm away from his opponent.

As Coric’s coach said after his charge won the first-set tie-break — players are allowed to put on a headset to communicate with their coach after each set — it would be important to change directions on the backhand side. And Coric executed the advice to perfection, becoming more aggressive and controlling play with laser-like backhands down the line throughout the final two sets. Donaldson did not take advantage of the in-match coaching innovation in his opener.

One of the other innovations in Milan — a shorter set — made it tough for Donaldson to wrestle the momentum back to his side of the court. In short order, 20 minutes to be exact, Coric won the second set on the back of an immediate break of serve. And once the Croatian grabbed that lead, a comeback seemed daunting for the American.

Donaldson managed to force a tie-break in the third set. But when Coric hit a serve off the net at 6-5 that bounced in the box — there are no lets in Milan — his opponent had difficulty getting a racquet on the ball. Coric easily put the next shot away to move to 1-0 at the Fiera Milano.

The inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals has begun with an upset.

Seventh seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia came back from a set down on Tuesday afternoon to surge to the top of Group B, knocking out countryman Karen Khachanov 2-4, 4-3(6), 4-3(2), 4-2 at the Fiera Milano.

The all-Russian battle was dominated by Khachanov in the early goings, as the 6’6” Russian controlled play with his heavy forehand. But his 6’6” countryman Medvedev evened the contest in an entertaining and back-and-forth tie-break.

In the third and fourth sets, Medvedev pulled away as he kept Khachanov in the back of the court and frequently dictated play. The seventh-seeded Medvedev in particular used his backhand up the line well against his countryman.

The opening match of the tournament also featured many of the innovations that will be the hallmark of the event. Both players talked with their coaches through headsets at the end of the second and third sets. There were at least two let serves that were played.

Well, one was played. On the first let serve, chair umpire Carlos Bernardes, out of habit, said let and then called let again because the players are to play all serves that hit the net cords.

Khachanov is one of the favourites to do well in Milan. He leads the field with 25 wins this season and has been one of the leaders of the #NextGenATP field this season.

But he is only 6-19 on hard courts this year and will now look to climb out of a 0-1 hole at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Medvedev has also been up and down in 2017, reaching six quarter-finals, a semi-final and his maiden final in Chennai, but also suffering losing streaks of six and eight. On Tuesday, though, he put it all together to become the first winner in Milan.