The drama of the group stage will reach its peak on Thursday at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. The four semi-finalists will be determined at the end of the day.
In the Green Group, Frenchman Arthur Fils will try to complete a perfect 3-0 campaign in the group stage when he faces Swiss Dominic Stricker. In the same group, the Italians Flavio Cobolli and Luca Nardi will also face each other, who is looking for his first victory of the week.
Fils accompanied an initial five-set victory against Nardi with a dominant one against Cobolli in which he lost only five games. While Stricker will reach Day 3 after beating Nardi, to increase expectations for his next duel. The Swiss leads the Lexus ATP HeadToHead with Fils 1-0 after defeating him 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in Gstaad in July this year.
In the Red Group, Jordanian wild card Abdullah Shelbayh will look to build on the momentum from his Wednesday win over Alex Michelsen. The rising Arab star, whose native Jordan neighbors Saudi Arabia, will take on Serbian Hamad Medjedovic knowing that a three- or four-set victory will guarantee his place in the semi-finals.
“I’ve known him since we were 10 years old,” Shelbayh said of Medjedovic. “I think it was in Italy the first time I met him. He’s a great guy, I know his family very well and they are great people. It won’t be an easy game. We have never played against each other, but we have played doubles together. We also won a title together in Türkiye.”
“I think it will be a fun game to play. Another important one for me. Now every victory counts for all of us in the group, so of course I will have to focus on recovering well and seeing how it goes,” he reflected after beating Michelsen, winning the last eight games of the match.
Medjedovic, who leads the group with a 2-0 record after closing Wednesday’s match with a victory against Luca Van Assche, is also hoping to meet his friend on the court.
“Abdullah is a great friend of mine,” said the Serbian. “I’ve known him since he was a little boy. He is a great player, we won a doubles title together when we were kids and I am happy to be able to face each other tomorrow.”
Also in the Red Group, second-seeded Van Assche will face Michelsen, who still has the potential to reach the semifinals despite his 0-2 record.
ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023
CENTRE COURT inicia a las 3 p.m.
[5] F. Cobolli (ITA) vs. [7] L. Nardi (ITA)
Not before 4 p.m.
[1] A. Fils (FRA) vs. [3] D. Stricker (SUI)
Not before 8 pm
[2] L. Van Assche (FRA) vs. [4] A. Michelsen (USA)
[6] H. Medjedovic (SER) vs. [WC/8] A. Shelbayh (JOR)
Source: https://www.atptour.com/es/news/jeddah-2023-day-3-preview
