The ATP World Tour Finals will be coming up soon, but before that, this week features the ATP Next Gen Finals which is a 21-and-under tournament for the rising stars in the men’s game. This is an eight man field and this rewards the best singles players from over the course of the season who are 21 and under. This is the inaugural tournament and it is being hosted in Milan and presents a good look at the future of the game.
Qualification
Qualification for the ATP Next Gen Finals was through the Emirates ATP Race to Milan throughout the season. Points were earned for performances throughout the regular season at events and the top seven players amassing the most points automatically qualified for the ATP Next Gen Finals. The eighth spot at the tournament was held back for an Italian wildcard to add a bit of home interested into the event (which is rank outsider Gianluigi Quinzi). The tournament will stay in Milan for five years.
Qualified Players and Withdrawals
Alexander Zverev was the clear front runner in qualification, amassing over 4,000 points and being ranked number four in the ATP Tour anyway, he was going to cruise to a place in the Next Gen Finals. But he has passed it up for preparations ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals instead. Andrey Rublev and Karan Khachanov are the only two players then to have qualified for this tournament with more than 1,000 points in the Race to Milan.
Qualified players (world ranking in brackets) Andrey Rublev (35), Karan Hahanov (44), Denis Shapovalov (49) Borna Coric (51), Jared Donaldson (54), Chung Hyeon (55), Daniil Medvedev (64), Gianluigi Quinzi (56).
Rules and Technology
The rules are a little different for this tournament because these matches will be the best of five sets but only the first to four games in each set. There will be a tie break if a set goes to 3-3 and in a tiebreak it will be a No-Ad format (no advantage) which means that it is a race to just four points instead of the usual having to win a tie break by two clear points and the receiver will choose which side of the court he wants to return from should the tie break get to deuce.
There will be just a five minute pre-match warm up on the court before the game starts, there will be a 25-second shot clock and a limit on medical timeout and coaching. This is all done to speed up the game and make it more intense and entertaining for the fans. There will also be no line judges at the tournament either, with all line calls being made by hawk-eye technology. There will still be an umpire. Only foot fault calls can be challenged by players.
Group A
Andrey Rublev
The Russian has had some season, winning his first ever ATP World Tour title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag after getting in as a lucky loser. He has an 18-16 win/loss record for the season and had a notable run to the quarter finals at the US Open, but has done very little since then.
Denis Shapovalov
The Canadian has shown up well down the back stretch of the regular season in having reached the semi finals of the ATP World Tour Masters Rogers Cup, beating Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal along the way. He got to the fourth round at the US Open a well. Definitely, a threat in the field and has an 11-11 win/loss record for the season.
Chung Hyeon
Hyeon goes off as tournament favourite at a price of 7/2 with bet365 and carries a 24-18 win/loss record for the season. So he has been busy but is still awaiting his first ATP Tour title but has made it to three quarter finals this term, Munich, Barcelona and Winston Salem.
Gianluigi Quinzi
Rank outsider and not likely to raise much of a challenge in the tournament at all. A low way below the ranking quality of everyone else in the field. He’s only played two matches on the ATP World Tour this season, winning one, losing one.
Group B
Karen Khachanov
Another strong Russian in the field and he got his first ATP Tour Title last year at the Chengdu Open. He has been consistent through all season with a 25-29 win/loss record with notable runs to the quarter finals at Barcelona and in Lyon and he went to the semi finals at the Gerry Weber Open, beating Rublev along the way.
Borna ?ori?
Croatia’s Coric has an ATP World Tour title, gained back in April in Marrakech and he got the best ever match win of his career when he beat Andy Murray at the Mutua Madrid Open, with Murray world number one at the time of the match. Coric is 21-25 for the season.
Jared Donaldson
The American has had a very solid season and could turn out to be a decent threat in the field. He has been working hard for consistency, but really has produced more of it than anyone else in this field. He has reached the quarter final of the Western & Southern Open and the Chengdu Open in the last couple of months. He’s improving all the time and is 21-22 this year.
Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev is 22-24 for this season and one of those wins was over Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon. He has actually been to six ATP World Tour quarter finals, while his best effort was a semi final at the Aegon International. The Russian may just struggle against the opposition in this group though.
ATP Next Gen Finals Winner Odds
Hyeon Chung 7/2, Borna Coric 9/2, Denis Shapovalov 4/1, Andrey Rublev 5/1, Karen Khachanov 13/2, Daniil Medvedev 15/2, Jared Donaldson 9/1, Gianluigi Quinzi 25/1
ATP Next Gen Finals Predictions
These are players that a lot of punters probably won’t have followed the seasons of all that closely which makes it tricky. There’s a couple of strong Russians in the field with Karen Khachanov having produced some good stuff this term and has appeal while compatriot Rublev is right there. Perhaps the most mature looking player in terms of performance level is Shapovalov and looks good value to sting the field. He’s also carrying strong end of season form as well and is a 4/1 value at bet365. The dark outsider should be Donaldson.
