With the brand new tennis season is simply two weeks away, the NextGen ATP Finals is nearly like the beginning of a brand new 12 months slightly than the conclusion of an outdated one. The 2025 installment of this 20-and-under match can be performed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the second time and will probably be hosted from Wednesday via Sunday. Jeddah’s eight members are Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen, Jakub Mensik, Jerry Shang, Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche, Nishesh Basavareddy, and Joao Fonseca
Listed below are my three picks for the NextGen ATP Finals.
Arthur Fils
Fils is in a category all by himself at this occasion, at the very least on paper. The Frenchman is already as much as No. 20 within the rankings; nobody else on this subject is ranked larger than No. 41 (Michelsen). Fils has earned 60 ATP-level match wins, together with 37 in the course of the 2024 marketing campaign. He performed particularly effectively in the course of the fall, with a 500-point triumph in Tokyo and a semifinal end in Basel. Fils was runner-up on the 2023 NextGen ATP Finals (misplaced to Hamad Medjedovic), so the 20-year-old Frenchman can be wanting to go one step additional in 2024.
Jakub Mensik
A U.S. Open third-round look in 2023 was Mensik’s first mark on tour, however he actually made a reputation for himself in 2024. The 19-year-old climbed to forty eighth within the rankings because of racking up 25 victories on the ATP degree. Mensik superior to the Doha ultimate and his fall swing was highlighted by a quarterfinal effort on the Shanghai Masters (d. Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov) and a quarterfinal displaying as a qualifier in Vienna. Mensik can by no means be discounted along with his huge serve — particularly indoors.
Joao Fonseca
Will Fonseca win the match? Clearly the percentages are stacked in opposition to him because the lowest-seeded participant within the subject — and since he’s extra comfortably on clay than exhausting courts at this level in his profession. Sill, he’s an intriguing play as a longshot. The 18-year-old Brazilian is oozing with expertise, as we noticed throughout a quarterfinal run on the Rio ATP 500 again in February. Fonseca has been enjoying effectively in Challengers of late, so he heads into Jeddah with loads of confidence.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and in addition maintains his personal tennis web site, The Grandstand. You may comply with him on Twitter at @Dimonator.
