Hyeon Chung was one of the last players to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. But heading into the semi-final stage, the South Korean will be one of the clear favourites to win the inaugural tournament this weekend. The sixth seed finished off a perfect 3-0 round-robin stage on Thursday, battling past Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi 1-4, 4-1, 4-2, 3-4(6), 4-3(3) to carry three days' worth of momentum into the final stretch, when Chung will try to win his first ATP World Tour title. “I'm just really looking forward to tomorrow,” Chung said. The 21-year-old reached the semi-finals at the BMW Open by FWU in Munich earlier this year (l. to Pella). Chung, the Group A...
Hyeon Chung was one of the last players to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. But heading into the semi-final stage, the South Korean will be one of the clear favourites to win the inaugural tournament this weekend. The sixth seed finished off a perfect 3-0 round-robin stage on Thursday, battling past Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi 1-4, 4-1, 4-2, 3-4(6), 4-3(3) to carry three days' worth of momentum into the final stretch, when Chung will try to win his first ATP World Tour title. “I'm just really looking forward to tomorrow,” Chung said. The 21-year-old reached the semi-finals at the BMW Open by FWU in Munich earlier this year (l. to Pella). Chung, the Group A...
Wednesday’s final match was intense, and it was largely due to the innovative format being used at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. Borna Coric was serving for the match against Daniil Medvedev, up two sets to one and 3-2, 40/15. On the surface, it seemed like the Russian had little chance. But thanks to the no-ad scoring system, when Medvedev found his way to deuce, everything was on the line. One more point and he could force a tie-break, and from there a fifth set. But Medvedev could not save a third match point, and Coric prevailed, 4-3(5), 2-4, 4-1, 4-2. “I think it was really physical,” Coric said. “The first two sets were extremely tough. Coric's physicality was...
The Next Gen ATP Finals has been branded as “The Future of Tennis”. But Denis Shapovalov was all old-school on Wednesday night in Milan. The 18-year-old Canadian dominated Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi at the Fiera Milano, blasting 41 winners to pick up his first victory at the inaugural tournament, 4-1, 4-1, 3-4(5), 4-3(5) in 89 minutes. Shapovalov is now 1-1 in Milan and will have a chance to reach the semi-finals on Thursday when he faces top seed Andrey Rublev. The winner will advance to the last four. “It was extremely tough. Gianluigi started playing unbelievable in the third set,” Shapovalov said. “It was tough to stay in it mentally so I'm really proud of myself.” Learn More About...
That was the Karen Khachanov ATP World Tour fans have seen make his way into the Top 30 of the Emirates ATP Rankings this season. After an opening defeat on Tuesday, the Russian bludgeoned the ball at will on Wednesday against American Jared Donaldson to earn his first win at the Next Gen ATP Finals 4-1, 4-3(3), 4-2. Khachanov improved to 1-1 in Group B after falling in four sets on Tuesday against countryman Daniil Medvedev. He was locked in from the start against Donaldson, who's the highest-ranked 21-and-under American. The Russian was stepping into the court and bullying the American from side to side with his powerful forehand. Donaldson was frequently feet behind the baseline, left to only retrieve...