Three SF Spots Up For Grabs On Thursday In Milan

Hyeon Chung may have secured his semi-final spot at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals on Wednesday, but there will be plenty of action on Thursday. Three more spots in the final four are up for grabs on the final day of round-robin play.

The stakes are clearest in one match in particular, as the winner between Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov will qualify as the second semi-finalist in Chung’s group. Both players are 1-1 so far in Group A action. The Russian-Canadian battle will be their first meeting

Rublev, who earned his first ATP World Tour title in Umag, is trying to earn his 20th win of the season (19-17). The 18-year-old Shapovalov is the youngest player in the field and he advanced to his maiden semi-final on home soil at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Montreal.

Chung will attempt to finish 3-0 in the group as he takes on Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi for the first time as professionals. Quinzi won both of their meetings in the juniors, triumphing in Milan five years ago on clay, and also beating the South Korean in the 2013 Wimbledon Boys’ Singles final.

In Group B action, No. 2 seed Karen Khachanov, fourth-seeded Borna Coric and No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev are all in contention for the two semi-final spots. Fifth-seeded Jared Donaldson has been eliminated.

Coric has the best chance of advancing, after winning his first two matches in Milan. The Croatian will take on Khachanov for the second time this season. In February, Coric won in two sets in the Rotterdam first round.

Khachanov, who is 1-1 so far, lost to his countryman, Medvedev, in four sets in the opening match of the tournament. He then beat Donaldson in straight sets on Wednesday. Khachanov has posted a career-high 26 wins this season.

Medvedev is 1-1 so far in group play and he takes on Donaldson (0-2) for the first time. Both players have cracked the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings this season with Medvedev reaching a career-high No. 48 on 24 July and Donaldson No. 50 on 23 October.

Medvedev reached his first ATP World Tour final in Chennai (l. to Bautista Agut) in the opening week of the season and was a semi-finalist in Eastbourne (l. to Djokovic) prior to Wimbledon.