Next Gen ATP Finals
Fils, Mensik and Fonseca in the same group at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF
The draw for the under-20s event was held on Sunday in Jeddah
December 15, 2024
The world’s best players under the age of 20 learned their groups for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF on Sunday night, when the official draw took place in Jeddah.
Three-time ATP Tour champion Arthur Fils is the top seed and leads the Blue Group. The 20-year-old Frenchman will be accompanied by Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien and Joao Fonseca. Alex Michelsen is the second seed for the year-end event and heads the Red Group, which will also feature Shang Juncheng, Luca Van Assche and Nishesh Basavareddy.
Fils, No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings, enters the tournament as a big favorite and with a ranking much higher than that of his rivals in the blue group, Mensik (48), Tien (122) and Fonseca (145). But Fils is expected to have a tough time in his group. He suffered a 6-0, 6-4 loss to Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro earlier in the year. Mensik has one of the most explosive and dangerous games in the tournament, with four wins against players in the Top 10 in 2024, and Tien arrives in top form, with three Challenger Tour titles this season.
Michelsen (41) and Shang (50) are both in the top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings. They have never met each other, but they will have a good chance of progressing to the semi-finals, as they are 70 places above Van Assche and Basavareddy. Shang won his first ATP Tour title in Chengdu in September, while Michelsen reached the Newport and Winston-Salem finals in 2024.
Van Assche, current world No. 128, and Basavareddy, world No. 138, form the Red Group. Van Assche reached the third round of the Australian Open in January, while Basavareddy has lifted two ATP Challenger Tour trophies since October.
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The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF begins on Wednesday, with the final on Sunday, December 22. The group stage will be played from Wednesday to Friday, with the semifinals on Saturday. The title match will take place at 8:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. CET) on Sunday the 22nd.
Hyeon Chung, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Brandon Nakashima and Hamad Medjedovic have triumphed in this competition.
Grupo Azul: Arthur Fils (1), Jakub Mensik (3), Learner Tien (5), Joao Fonseca (8).
Red Group: Alex Michelsen (2), Shang Juncheng (4), Luca Van Assche (6), Nishesh Basavareddy (7).
Source: https://www.atptour.com/es/news/next-gen-atp-finals-presented-by-pif-2024-draw-sunday
