Billie Jean King Cup play-offs 2030 Great Britain 'can't underestimate' Sweden
Great Britain cannot underestimate Sweden in the Billie Jean King Cup play-offs despite being the heavy favourites, says captain Anne Keothavong.
Great Britain cannot underestimate Sweden in the Billie Jean King Cup play-offs despite being the heavy favourites, says captain Anne Keothavong.
Innovations and rules have been unveiled for the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM (28 November – 2 December). The tournament’s first edition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia continues its role as a leading showcase for innovation in tennis.
Changes for 2023 are set to accelerate the event’s fast-paced format, enhance the fan experience, and enrich data and analytics for players, coaches and fans:
Fils, Stricker, Van Assche & Cobolli Qualify For Next Gen ATP Finals
Continued from previous editions:
A host of premium international and national brands have partnered with the tournament in its first year in Jeddah. The impressive roster is headlined by NEOM, as the event’s presenting partner. NEOM is a region in north-western Saudi Arabia developing a new model for exceptional livability, an innovative economy with a focus on environmental conservation.
Other partners include Emirates Airline, Hilton and Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Co. (Platinum Partners), Dunlop, Xerjoff, and Al Arabia (Gold Partners) and J-B, Delta Fitness and Aquafina (Silver Partners). The event is hosted in partnership with the Saudi Tennis Federation.
The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City from 28 November-2 December 2023, with a record US $2 million prize money on offer.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is a holding serve machine.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the eight players competing in the Nitto ATP Finals next week identifies the Greek as the toughest player to break based on his superior serve performance this season.
Tsitsipas has averaged being broken once out of every 8.4 of his service games in 2023, making him the leader of the pack chasing end-of-season glory in Turin. The other two players who elevated over the seven-game threshold were Novak Djokovic (7.9) and Jannik Sinner (7.6).
2023 Season: Average Service Games Per Break
1. Tsitsipas – 8.4
2. Djokovic – 7.9
3. Sinner – 7.6
4. Alcaraz – 6.6
5. Medvedev – 6.4
6. Rublev – 6.2
7. Zverev – 6.1
8. Rune – 5.7
If you postulate an average set score being 6-3, Tsitsipas will typically be broken just once in a straight-sets match. Holger Rune, on the other hand, is nudging closer to twice a match—especially if the score is tighter, such as 6-4, 6-4.
Not surprisingly, Tsitsipas leads the ATP Tour in percentage of service games won in 2023, at 88.72 per cent (826/931). Djokovic is in second place at 88.53 per cent (625/706), while Sinner sits in sixth place overall at 87.06 per cent (747/858).
Djokovic was outstanding in this department last week in capturing the Rolex Paris Masters title, only being broken six times out of 69 service games for a stunning average of one break every 11.5 service games. Tsitsipas reached the semi-finals and was broken four times out of 48 service games for an even better average of one break every 12 service games.
Returning
If you apply the same metrics from the return side of the equation, it’s Carlos Alcaraz who breaks serve at a faster clip per game than the other seven players competing in Turin.
Alcaraz is breaking serve every 3.08 games, closely followed by Medvedev (3.13) and Sinner (3.36). Tsitsipas now sits in last place, breaking serve on average once every 5.05 games.
2023 Season: Average Return Games Per Break
1. Alcaraz – 3.08
2. Medvedev – 3.15
3. Sinner – 3.36
4. Djokovic – 3.38
5. Rublev – 3.98
6. Zverev – 4.26
7. Rune – 4.58
8. Tsitsipas – 5.05
Djokovic toiled through three tough three-set matches to reach the final in Paris, mainly due to his inability to break serve as often as normal. Djokovic has broken every 3.38 games throughout the season, but that dropped down to an average of 4.93 games in Paris. The match against Andrey Rublev, in particular, was a tough nut for Djokovic to crack. He only broke twice in 18 return games from a total of eight break points.
Analysing holding and breaking serve in this slightly different light provides insights that you can benchmark against while watching these end-of-season blockbuster matches in Turin. It will be fascinating to see who is going to punch above their weight and who may struggle to post their season averages against the cream of the crop from the 2023 season.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka will return to tennis six months after giving birth when she plays at the Brisbane International in January.
Novak Djokovic has arrived in Turin and is ready to chase the record books at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals.
The Serbian star, who trained on Thursday at the Pala Alpitour, headlines the Green Group at the Pala Alpitour. He will compete against home favourite Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune at the season finale.
There is a lot at stake for Djokovic, who is currently tied with Roger Federer for the most titles in tournament history with six. One more and the 36-year-old would stand alone with the most trophies in event history.
Novak Djokovic” />
Photo Credit: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
Djokovic is also close to securing his record-extending eighth ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour. Two years ago he broke a tie with Pete Sampras (6) for the most year-end No. 1 finishes in history.
Should he accomplish the feat again this year, the week after the Nitto ATP Finals Djokovic would become the first player in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history to reach 400 weeks at World No. 1. The only other man to hit the 300-weeks mark is Federer (310).
Djokovic is trying to win his 98th tour-level title, which would bring him to within two triumphs of joining Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103) as the only players on record to earn 100 tour-level crowns.
The World No. 1 begins his 2023 Nitto ATP Finals campaign on Sunday evening against Holger Rune in a rematch of their recent Rolex Paris Masters quarter-final.
Leylah Fernandez seals Canada’s place in the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1988, as Italy also progress.
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury completed their US Open trifecta in September, capturing the title at Flushing Meadows for a third consecutive year. Now the American-British duo sets their sights on another coveted title defense: the Nitto ATP Finals.
Ram and Salisbury have found their form with a late-season surge, claiming the title in two of their past four events. Perhaps no better memory than in New York, where they captured their fourth major team trophy.
“We’ve had great success there and we’ve done well. I don’t think you can ever just assume that you’re going to win a major,” Ram told Chris Bowers on the ATP Podcast. “But we seem to play our best there for sure. For whatever reason, I think a lot of things suit our game [there] and as tennis players, we tend to do well at places we’ve done well before.
“I do think it’s a pretty substantial achievement that we were able to win it three times in a row just because even if you do well in play, something has to go your way. And so for that to happen three years in a row was pretty special for us.”
Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram are crowned champions at the 2023 US Open.” />
Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram are crowned champions at the 2023 US Open. Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images
Despite an uncharacteristically slow start to the season, Ram and Salisbury have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for a fifth consecutive year. A second consecutive title in Turin would be the best possible way to close the year for Ram and Salisbury.
“It’s tough to say it’s not been a good year when we’ve won a Grand Slam. Had we not won the US Open, it would have been a very poor year by our standards,” Salisbury said. “But the fact that we did that, we always say that we want to do the best at the biggest tournaments and we managed to win one of the Grand Slams, so that’s obviously a huge achievement.
“Our aim is to be the number one team. That’s kind of the standards that we want to set ourselves and measure ourselves against. We’re obviously quite a long way off that this year. Obviously that’s pretty high standards to have. But that’s where we want to be.”
Boasting a 12-5 record together at the year-end event, the duo has won nine of the past 10 matches in Turin. Their first appearance ended in a round-robin exit. Since then, they have progressed one step further each year: semi-finals in 2020, runners-up in 2021 and champions a year ago. A sixth trip to the Nitto ATP Finals will only add to the list of the memories the duo cherishes from the event.
“I think qualifying my first time just because it felt like it’s such a big achievement,” Ram said. “To be there with the top eight singles guys, it’s just a different feel. It’s a smaller group of people, they do really make an effort to make you feel special, which is really nice. Then last year winning it, we went undefeated. We got close the year before, we were undefeated until the final, but to win it and especially to go undefeated is really special.”
Salisbury added, “I think the first time we qualified was a pretty amazing experience. It was the first full year that I was playing with Rajeev. I don’t think we qualified until the Paris Masters, which was pretty amazing. Just to be there on that stage playing at the O2 Arena [in London] was incredible. We’ve done better each year that we played it up until winning it last year. So that was an incredible way to finish the season and one of the best matches we played in that final as well. It is a really special tournament.”
Alexander Shevchenko booked his first appearance in an ATP Tour semi-final in style on Thursday at the Moselle Open.
The 22-year-old downed third seed Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-4 at the indoor ATP 250 in Metz for just his second victory against an opponent in the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Shevchenko saved all three break points he faced to upset the World No. 15 Khachanov in a 73-minute quarter-final clash.
🚨 Shot of the week contender!
Alexander Shevchenko can do NO wrong 🔥@MoselleOpen | #MoselleOpen pic.twitter.com/tYlSm4hDgZ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 9, 2023
After defeating Mathias Bourgue, Mate Valkusz and Khachanov this week in Metz, Shevchenko has risen three spots to No. 60 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, setting him up for a career-high next Monday. He has enjoyed a breakout season on the ATP Tour, notching 15 tour-level wins and reaching his first quarter-final at the ATP 500 in Basel two weeks ago.
Shevchenko’s next opponent in France will be Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who ended #NextGenATP Luca Van Assche’s run with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win. Herbert had not won a tour-level singles match in more than 20 months prior to this week but is now preparing for the 12th ATP Tour semi-final of his career.
“The feeling is special because I think I played a great match with Luca,” said Herbert, who sent down 20 aces in his two-hour, 34-minute win. “[It was] a battle of two games that are really different, and I’m happy I came through and managed to win. It’s a special week… Three good matches, I managed to win all three, and now I’m in the semi-finals.”
Jan-Lennard Struff and Jack Draper set a hard-hitting late-season clash on Thursday at the Sofia Open, where the pair notched contrasting quarter-final victories at the indoor ATP 250.
The third-seeded Struff overcame Fabian Marozsan 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in a one-hour, 58-minute battle in Bulgaria to reach his first hard-court ATP Tour semi-final since 2021. The 33-year-old German, who is now 20-16 for the season, rallied from 0-2 in the deciding set to prevail in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Marozsan.
“I think it was a great match of very high intensity and a good level,” said Struff. “I felt like [we both] played a very good first set. In the second I gave away one break with a double fault, which I think was unexpected. But in the third he was a break up and I managed to stay in, fight for every point and [be aggressive] on return.”
Bend it like Struff 🥶
Lovely whip from @Struffitennis! @sofiaopentennis | #SofiaOpen pic.twitter.com/EoXVpmnuoC
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 9, 2023
Struff’s next test in Sofia is a semi-final meeting with Draper, who eased past wild card Cem Ilkel 6-2, 6-2 to back up his second-round win against top seed Lorenzo Musetti. The 21-year-old Briton converted four of nine break points he earned to book his third appearance in an ATP Tour semi-final after Eastbourne in 2022 (I. to Cressy) and Adelaide-2 in 2023 (I. to Kwon).
“I think he is a really solid player,” said Draper of Turkey’s Ilkel after the match. “It was difficult in the rallies but I thought I was really strong and my ball speed was very good. I was able to turn defence into attack really well today, so I’m happy with the way I played.”
Friday’s semi-final meeting between Struff and Draper will be the first in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. It will also be a collision between two of the cleanest ballstrikers on Tour.
“He’s someone who has had an amazing season and won a lot of matches,” said Draper of Struff. “He plays a really big game, so it will be two big hitters playing and hopefully it will be a good match.”
Home favourite Jannik Sinner will play in the first singles match of the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday afternoon at the Pala Alpitour in Turin. The fourth seed will play Stefanos Tsitsipas before six-time season finale champion Novak Djokovic takes on eighth seed Holger Rune in the evening session.
Tsitsipas leads Sinner 5-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The pair has split two clashes this season, with Tsitsipas winning a five-setter at the Australian Open and Sinner earning his revenge in straight sets one month later in Rotterdam.
Djokovic will play Rune just two weeks after their memorable Rolex Paris Masters quarter-final. The World No. 1 emerged victorious after two hours and 55 minutes en route to capturing the title at the season’s final ATP Masters 1000 event. None of their four Lexus ATP Head2Head showdowns have ended in straight sets (series tied 2-2).
In doubles action, top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek will face seventh seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the afternoon, and fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin will play fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the evening.
ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER
Afternoon Session – Starts at 12 p.m.
(1) Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek vs. (7) Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni
Not Before 2:30 p.m. – (4) Jannik Sinner vs. (6) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Evening Session – Not Before 6:30 p.m.
(4) Santiago Gonzalez/Edouard Roger-Vasselin vs. (5) Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos
Not Before 9 p.m. – (1) Novak Djokovic vs. (8) Holger Rune
On Monday afternoon, second seed Carlos Alcaraz will make his Nitto ATP Finals debut against a two-time winner of the season finale, Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz has won five consecutive sets in their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry, which now stands at three matches each.
In a rematch of round-robin action from last year’s Nitto ATP Finals, third seed Daniil Medvedev will play fifth seed Andrey Rublev on Monday evening. Last year in Turin, Rublev triumphed in a final-set tie-break. However, Medvedev leads their series 6-2, including 2-0 this season.
Doubles second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will try to make a good start to their tournament Monday afternoon against eighth seeds Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler. Third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden face defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the evening.
ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER
Afternoon Session – Starts at 12 p.m.
(2) Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski vs. (8) Rinky Hijikata/Jason Kubler
Not Before 2:30 p.m. – (2) Carlos Alcaraz vs. (7) Alexander Zverev
Evening Session – Not Before 6:30 p.m.
(3) Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden vs. (6) Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury
Not Before 9 p.m. – (3) Daniil Medvedev vs. (5) Andrey Rublev