Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin advanced to the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday when they saved one match point to overcome Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 3-6, 15-13 in a Green Group qualification shootout thriller.

The fourth seeds finish the round-robin stage holding a 2-1 record and join Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (2-0) in the last four. Top seeds Dodig and Krajicek end Green Group play at 1-2 and are eliminated alongside Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez (0-2).

In a tight match inside the Pala Alpitour, Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin lifted their level in the Match Tie-break. After failing to convert match point chances at 9/8, 10/9 and 11/10, they then saved one match point at 11/12, before eventually converting on their fifth match point to triumph after one hour and 40 minutes.

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin dropped to their knees after advancing before they returned to their feet to embrace those in their box.

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin are making their first appearance at the year-end event as a team, with Gonzalez the third Mexican to qualify for the semi-finals in tournament history. The Mexican-French pair has lifted five tour-level trophies this year, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Miami and Paris.

Krajicek and Dodig were making their second appearance as a team at the year-end event, having fallen in the round-robin stage in 2022. They won five titles together in 2023, highlighted by Roland Garros.

The Green Group action climaxes on Thursday at the Nitto ATP Finals, with both qualification spots for the semi-finals still up for grabs.

Novak Djokovic will bid to bounce back from a defeat to Jannik Sinner, knowing a win against alternate Hubert Hurkacz would go a long way towards extending his Turin title defence beyond round-robin play. In the evening matchup, two of the ATP Tour’s brightest young stars in Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune will square off under the lights.

[1] Novak Djokovic (SER) vs. [9/Alt] Hubert Hurkacz (POL)

Djokovic was turned back by home favourite Sinner in a thrilling three-setter on Tuesday night, but the Serbian left the match proud of his efforts.

“It’s normal to lose some of the matches like this, but I have to be content with the fight, the fighting spirit,” he said after seeing his 19-match winning streak snapped. “I managed to make a comeback from a set down, a break down in the third set, playing in really challenging and difficult conditions on the court today. I’m proud of the fight that I put in. It just wasn’t enough for the win.”

The defending champion now faces a fight to advance out of the group stage. While his matchup with alternate Hurkacz is not technically a “must win”, Djokovic would put himself in prime position to return to the semi-finals by improving to 2-1 on the week — particularly if his victory is an emphatic one.

Hurkacz will enter this matchup with nothing to lose, entering for the final group match as a replacement for Stefanos Tsitsipas (back injury). But the Pole will still be playing for considerable Pepperstone ATP Rankings points and prize money as he seeks to finish his season with a win against the World No. 1.

The Pole reached the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals in his last appearance, bowing out after a three-set defeat to Grigor Dimitrov — whom Djokovic beat in the final.

While Djokovic faced a barrage of big serves against Sinner on Tuesday, his returning prowess may be put to an even tougher test against the power of Hurkacz, who is the runaway ace leader on the ATP Tour with 1,031 this season. Like Sinner, Hurkacz will be seeking his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Serbian.

[4] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. [8] Holger Rune (DEN)

After Sinner and Rune both battled Djokovic for three sets with contrasting results, the two young stars now meet each other in Turin. Sinner thrilled the Italian crowd with his 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) win against the World No. 1 and now has a chance to complete a perfect 3-0 group campaign.

The 22-year-old felt his growing maturity made the difference in enabling him to score his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Serbian.

“I feel that I’m a little bit more confident in certain moments in a match,” Sinner said of his performance in the clutch moments. “I think I was really brave and intelligent in important moments, especially the third set.”

Rune has also proven to be fearless when the pressure is highest, with the shining example his three-set victory against Djokovic in last year’s Rolex Paris Masters final. While Rune has been beaten by Djokovic twice in the past month — losing in three sets in Paris-Bercy and Turin — the Dane levelled at 1-1 this week in his Nitto ATP Finals debut when Tsitsipas retired early in their Tuesday tilt.

Rune is now bracing for a much longer battle against Sinner — and his home support — on Thursday.

“He can do whatever he wants on the court,” Rune said of the Italian, whom he has beaten in both of their previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings. “He can hit a great forehand, great backhand, great volley. Great movement, serve, everything. Obviously it’s more tough here in Italy to play him. That’s what it is. I’m just going to prepare.”

Win & In For Dodig/Krajicek, Gonzalez/Roger-Vasselin

The noon matchup that pits Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek against Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin will decide who joins fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semi-finals.

Granollers and Zeballos are confirmed as winners of the Green Group and will bid to complete a perfect 3-0 round-robin campaign against Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

Daniil Medvedev became the first man to qualify for the semi-finals this year in Turin with his Wednesday win against Alexander Zverev. The third seed has won all four sets he’s played at the Nitto ATP Finals in building a 2-0 group-stage record, and he’s eager to build on that success when he meets Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.

“I’m going to try my best to play Carlos,” Medvedev said, acknowledging the fact that his progress to the knockout rounds is already sealed. “The moment you relax and say to yourself, ‘Maybe this match I can go easier,’ you can lose all the rhythm. That’s how tennis is.”

Medvedev saw first-hand the value of maintaining winning momentum in his Turin meeting with Novak Djokovic last year. The Serbian was 2-0 entering that matchup and already through to the semis, just like Medvedev is now. But Djokovic did not give an inch in a three-set battle, ultimately winning a final-set tie-break before claiming his record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals crown two matches later.

“Novak last year against me, [it was] physically a very tough match.,” Medvedev said. “He could have said at one moment, ‘Whatever, I lose the match, I’m still first place.’ But he didn’t. I think it’s a great example for me to try to do just my best on Friday and try to win.”

While the result will not affect Medvedev’s progress to the semi-finals, it will be crucial for the fate of both Alcaraz and Zverev. Both players enter the final round of group play at 1-1, with Zverev set to meet Andrey Rublev to close his group campaign.

“On Friday, I’ll be the No. 1 Daniil Medvedev fan there is on the planet — for a change,” Zverev said with a smile, after a fifth defeat in six Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Medvedev this season.

Asked about Zverev’s comments, Medvedev understood his rival’s sentiment.

“That’s normal. He wants to go through,” he said. “For sure, if I beat Carlos, it’s going to be the best for him. So it’s normal. I would be the same. I can see him looking the match. If I miss going, ‘No, why did he miss!’ Same if I win points.”

So what will it take to secure the result both he and Zverev crave?

“I think against [Alcaraz] — especially the way he played today, better than two days ago — you have to be at your best,” Medvedev said, echoing comments he made before beating the Spaniard in the US Open semi-finals. “You have to serve well. Here [on the fast court], there is an opportunity… You can serve aces against him like Sascha did. So I need to play fast. I need to make winners before he does it.

“Today he was [playing] pretty well. It’s going to be a good continuation of a test. I beat two good opponents and I have another one in two days. I’m going to try to do my best.”

Editor’s Note: This article was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Although the 2023 ATP Tour season is yet to reach its conclusion, with the Nitto ATP Finals nearing their final rounds in Turin, Rafael Nadal already has his mind on 2024. After a return to training a few weeks ago, having not competed since the Australian Open and undergone an operation on his iliopsoas, the Spanish star has now confirmed that he will play again. He has been working tirelessly toward that goal in recent months.

“I’m well, training, and happy,” said the 22-time Grand Slam champion on Wednesday afternoon in Barcelona. “I’m at a good stage of my life. Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good,” he explained.

“We know that the pain will never disappear, but I’ve taken a step forward,” said the Spaniard. “That’s a lot for me. Talking about tennis is another matter altogether, as is the level I’ll be able to play at. But the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months. I’m confident I’ll be able to say something more specific in the coming weeks.”

After picking up an injury at the Australian Open and then withdrawing from several tournaments, including Roland Garros, Nadal underwent an operation on 2 June in Barcelona and started his long recovery period, from which he is now starting to emerge.

“I’ve always maintained hope that I would play again,” said Nadal. “How much? At what level? It’s difficult to answer that. I never lost hope I’d play. Things gradually become clear with the passing of the weeks. At the moment I’m on the right track.”

Nadal, 37, said he has not set himself the loftiest goals, like playing in the Paris Olympics or going for Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam record (24 compared to the Mallorcan’s 22). It is not about that; it is a case of a return that would represent the personal achievement of having recovered when there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

“I haven’t played for a year,” reiterated the Spaniard. “Personal success is often more rewarding than general success. The hope is that I’ll play again. You never know what will happen. My gut says it will be very difficult to get back to a good level of tennis. If I wasn’t hopeful of trying to be competitive, I wouldn’t be doing everything I’ve done over the past months at my age and after a long career,” he added.

“The years pass by. My hope is that I will play again, and that is hugely satisfying to me on a personal level. I won’t win more Grand Slams than Djokovic, but I will have the chance to enjoy myself again.”

An opportunity to see the Spaniard compete on a tennis court again seems to be drawing ever nearer.

In a battle of former Nitto ATP Finals champions, Daniil Medvedev continued his recent run of success against Alexander Zverev to become the first man to book a place in this year’s Turin semi-finals.

The third seed edged his German opponent 7-6(7), 6-4 on Wednesday night, earning his fifth win in six Lexus ATP HeadHead matchups between the pair this season and improving to 11-7 overall against Zverev. Medvedev also moved to 3-2 against Zverev at the Nitto ATP Finals, with the pair nearing Pete Sampras and Boris Becker’s record of seven matchups at the season finale.

“It was a very tough match mentally,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview. “I started very well, I was playing well. He was kind of not there yet, but at one moment he stepped up his game and at this moment, for whatever reason, I started playing a little bit worse for a short period of time.

“I’m happy that I managed to regroup and play better at the end of the first set. The end of both sets was very tight… In the tie-break he had set point on his serve. I’m happy because this year I might have lost some matches like this. I’m happy to be able to win.”

The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champ beat the 2018 and 2021 titlist in a match of fine margins, with Medvedev saving two set points in a tense opening-set tie-break and fighting off a break point late in set two.

Medvedev was locked in from the first ball and eased to an early 2-0 lead, but Zverev came on strong from the middle of the opening set by countering Medvedev’s metronomic baseline game with aggressive swings and well-times net approaches. The German missed a sitter volley that would have put him 5/1 up in the tie-break before both players traded costly miscues from 5/5 — Medvedev sailing an overhead long before Zverev flubbed a forehand on his first set point.

A moment of brilliance decided the set, when the ranging Medvedev lasered a down-the-line forehand that his opponent could not handle at the net.

Set two was ticking quickly towards a second tie-break with both players dominant on serve, until Medvedev fought off the first break point of the set to hold for 5-4. He opened the ensuing game with an ingenious lob off an overhead swing from beyond the baseline and closed out the match soon after, a brilliant backhand pass bringing up match point.

Medvedev will next face Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-2 earlier on Wednesday to move to 1-1 in group play.

“I saw his match today against Andrey and he played much better than in the first match,” Medvedev said of the Spaniard. “He was missing less, doing amazing winners from far out like he can. I hope that I feel good tomorrow and I’m ready to fight. This tournament is tricky, because I’m into the semis, but you want to keep the rhythm.”

Did you ever wonder which Nitto ATP Finals champion eats the most?

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of the Turin competitors spilled the tea in a special eight-player interview ahead of this year’s season finale.

The champions sat down in the Royal Palace of Turin to bring fans exclusive insight into the players’ tennis and habits off the court.

 

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Would Novak Djokovic or Daniil Medvedev be able to go the longest without missing a backhand? The votes were split, until one of the stars changed his vote to convince the rest of the group.

Who is most likely to cry after a win or a loss? Find out all that and more in the memorable video feature below:

A well thought-out gameplan is key to regularly win matches on the ATP Tour.

Pre-match scouting reports and post-match debriefs with coaches have long been part of the routine for top stars as they look to outthink their on-court rivals. Now, thanks to the ATP and Tennis Data Innovations (TDI), it is the mid-match strategic battle that could become even more decisive to give a player the best possible chance of victory.

Tennis IQ, ATP and TDI’s performance analytics platform, gives all ATP singles players access to advanced match analytics within one simple and intuitive platform. This week at the Nitto ATP Finals, tennis analyst Mike James, a member of Holger Rune’s team, is using the system on a tablet in the Dane’s player box to offer a live data-driven perspective to coach Boris Becker.

“Boris has his own view and he’s got a very good coaching eye, but what I see using the data in the match is confirmed learning,” James told ATPTour.com in Turin. “[Boris] might feel something is happening, he just wants confirmation of it — around the court position, around the serve speeds and serve accuracy. [These are things] that we can see live.

“I think traditionally how we’ve used analysis is obviously pretty much scouting, post-match in the game development and starting to work on things. Now doing it live, I think it has massive value.”

_{^{Mike James is part of Holger Rune’s team this week at the Nitto ATP Finals. Photo Credit: ATP Tour}}

James began working with Rune after he joined the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France in January 2022, when the Dane was No. 104 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He was immediately impressed with the appetite for analysis of the then-18-year-old and his coach, Lars Christensen.

“Lars at the time was super into video analysis and data analytics, as was Patrick Mouratoglou, and Holger is obsessed with the game,” said James. “He’s eating the tennis ball for lunch, dinner, and evening meal, and he’s always watching video and diving into it anyway. So it was a really nice fit.”

Fast-forward nearly three years and Rune is this week making his Nitto ATP Finals debut as one of the top eight performing players across the 2023 season. So what are the key areas James is currently focused on to help Rune, who holds a 1-1 record in Green Group this week in Turin, compete against his elite rivals?

“For me, a big one is court position, because we know that for every metre you go further back, you have to hit the ball 18 per cent harder to keep the same ball speed,” explained James. “That’s just physics. The reality is for someone like Holger, who has a good above-average ball speed on his backhand and forehand, the court position is really important to keep dictating the rally.

“Of course there are [simpler] things like second-serve points won and things like this, but court position right now in his game is the big one that we are really focusing on.”

James emphasises that analysing the data itself is only one part of his job. The fact that he works with four different players — Rune and three WTA stars from the Mouratoglou Academy and Champ’Seed Foundation — makes communication key.

“I think the feel and the type of language you use [is important],” he said. “I keep it simple. It has to be digestible and quick to get to the player. A lot of tennis players naturally go on feelings, they go on emotions, so when you start bringing in sport science, it becomes a different challenge. You really have to tailor-make how you are delivering it to each individual team.

“I work with four different players. How I’m delivering it to Boris and the other coaches is totally different.”

In terms of its overall impact, James believes another advantage of Tennis IQ is the way it allows specific positive aspects of a performance to be isolated and conveyed to a player, even with data from matches they did not win. He cites the early months of the 2022 season, when Rune was just making the step up from the ATP Challenger Tour to the ATP Tour, as a prime example.

“During that period of January and February when he wasn’t winning many matches, this is where the analysis helps,” said James. “To give feedback that, ‘Look, you didn’t get the outcome today, but the process and the performance in an area of your game is going up’. People think it’s always about winning, but when you’re losing, there’s a lot of value to give an extra bit of confidence to the player.

“Information is power, but how you use that information and deliver that information can be destructive or creative. For someone like me who has been doing performance analysis for the past five or six seasons, I feel very in tune with knowing how to deliver it and when to deliver it. I think more people like myself will come into the game and it’s going to be interesting to see how it evolves.”

James is an experienced analyst who has worked in the role since 2018, previously helping the likes of Magnus Norman (the then-coach of Stan Wawrinka), Miro Hrvitan (then-coach of Miomir Kecmanovic) and the team of Iga Swiatek. He credits Tennis IQ with democratising the use of data and ensuring it is not only useful for top players who possess the resources to hire a specialist.

“The biggest value right now for Tennis IQ is during the match,” he said. “However, if you’re another player who doesn’t have access to someone like myself and the facilities we have at the academy, you can dive into the software and look at all the metrics that we have been using at the academy for the past two years.

“I think it creates a level playing field. What it gives someone like me to do is to create different insights, to keep one step ahead. I think it’s a good thing, I think it raises the level.”

Carlos Alcaraz has not forgotten what happened a few months ago in the US Open semi-finals. In that match, facing Daniil Medvedev at the last Grand Slam of the season, the Spaniard suffered from a “mental block” at the end of the first-set tiebreak that would continue through almost all of the second set. As a result, he lost in four sets and left with a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

After Wednesday’s 7-5, 6-2 win over Andrey Rublev, Alcaraz will Friday square off against Medvedev for the first time since that evening, and he will do so in what promises to be a high-octane encounter; the No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings needs to win to have a chance of reaching the last four at the Nitto ATP Finals.

“We’re going to try and use the US Open match as an example,” explained Alcaraz, whose Lexus ATP Head2Head with Medvedev is tied at 2-2. “I was mentally in the wrong place for a long time. That cannot happen against him. I will have to approach it differently. I know how he will play, so we’ll look at my strategy before the match.

“Medvedev is one of the best players in the world,” declared the 20-year-old Spaniard. “You have to play very well tactically, be patient and aggressive at the same time. It’s very difficult to beat him. You have to wait for the opportunity, but run and be calm, and get five or six shots in per point until the chance comes, while being aware that often it won’t.”

Alcaraz is heading into his final round-robin clash with Medvedev in a position he was not expecting two days ago, when he lost to Alexander Zverev in his opener at the Pala Alpitour.

“After the first match, I was feeling really bad,” said the Murcia native. “I didn’t know where my game was. I thought I couldn’t win any matches at this tournament feeling the way I did,” he admitted. “After yesterday’s practice session, and after today’s match, I’ve changed the way I feel and the way I will approach the coming days. Now I do have a chance to reach the semi-finals, and to have a good tournament here.”

After the defeat at the hands of Zverev, Alcaraz and his team established a plan to rediscover the player’s ‘A’ game. First, in Tuesday’s practice session, coach Juan Carlos Ferrero asked him to be aggressive, to forget the fear of failure that was hampering his shots. The Valencian former World No. 1 also spoke to his understudy before his victory against Andrey Rublev — and it seems his message had the desired effect.

“At the end of the day, compared to the first match, I’ve stopped thinking about winning or losing. Instead I’m focussing on playing good tennis and enjoying myself,” explained the two-time Grand Slam champion. “That’s what we spoke about with Juan Carlos: It doesn’t matter if I win or lose, I just have to play at the level I’ve been playing this year, and enjoy myself on court. That is the key to my tennis, although in recent months it’s been pretty hard for me.”

Regardless of what happens tonight in the match between Medvedev and Zverev, come Friday Alcaraz will still have a chance of claiming a spot in the semi-finals at the season’s grand finale — and he is looking increasingly capable of doing so.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury extended their Nitto ATP Finals winning streak to seven matches on Wednesday in Turin. In doing so, they sealed a semi-final spot at the prestigious season finale for the fourth consecutive year.

The defending champions Ram and Salisbury held firm for a 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 win against Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski inside the Pala Alpitour. Now 2-0 in Red Group, they are already assured a place in the last four regardless of what happens in their third match against Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler.

Ram and Salisbury have struggled for their usual consistency this year but became ATP Tour champions in Lyon in May and Vienna in October, either side of defending their title at the US Open. They are now 34-18 for the season after holding firm in a tense Match Tie-break to wrap an 83-minute triumph against Koolhof and Skupski.

A single break decided each of the first two sets in an absorbing encounter, the first between the two teams since Ram and Salisbury prevailed in the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals semi-finals. The American-British pair notched the first break of the match in the sixth game en route to winning an opening set in which they saved five break points, but Koolhof and Skupski broke to love in the eighth game of the second to draw level.

After edging their second-seeded rivals in a tight Match Tie-break by winning seven of nine points from 3/5 , Ram and Salisbury are now 14-5 across five appearances at the Nitto ATP Finals. They also reached the championship match in Turin in 2021, before their title run last year.

With a 1-1 record for the week, Koolhof and Skupski next face a straight shootout to become the second team to advance from Red Group against Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.