Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche, Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker and Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic advanced to the semifinal round of the Next Gen ATP Finals following Thursday’s action in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The round-robin stage concluded Thursday with two matches needing four sets and the other two going five. The event format calls for best-of-five play, with four games winning the set.
Van Assche rallied past American Alex Michelsen 4-3 (0), 3-4 (4), 3-4 (4), 4-1, 4-3 (6) to finish 2-1 in the Red Group and earn its second semifinal bid.
Van Assche finished behind Medjedovic, who finished 3-0 in the group following his 3-4 (6), 4-2, 4-3 (5), 4-2 win over Jordan’s Abdullah Shelbayh.
Fils defeated Stricker 4-2, 3-4 (3), 4-2, 4-3 (5) to claim first place in the Green Group with a 3-0 round-robin record. Fils won 13 of 18 net points to outlast Stricker, who had saved 8 of 11 break points.
Stricker still clinched second place in the group, though, following a three-way tie at 1-2.
In an all-Italian battle, Luca Nardi beat Flavio Cobolli 3-4 (4), 4-2, 4-3 (1), 1-4, 4-3 (3) before Fils and Stricker played. Stricker needed to win just one set in order to clinch the tiebreaker based on set record.
The Next Gen ATP Finals are the season-ending event for the top-ranked male players 21 and under. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Holger Rune on Denmark both qualified by age, but they also qualified for the overall ATP Finals and are not in Jeddah. Ben Shelton (medical) and Lorenzo Musetti (personal) both withdrew.
The tournament continues Friday with two semifinal matches:
–Arthur Fils vs. Luca Van Assche
–Hamad Medjedovic vs. Dominic Stricker
Green Group final results (match record, set record):
1. Arthur Fils, 3-0, 9-3
2. Dominic Stricker, 1-2, 5-6
3. Flavio Cobolli, 1-2, 5-7
4. Luca Nardi, 1-2, 5-8
Red Group final results (match record, set record):
1. Hamad Medjedovic, 3-0, 9-4
2. Luca Van Assche, 2-1, 7-6
3. Abdullah Shelbayh, 1-2, 5-7
4. Alex Michelsen, 0-3, 5-9
–Field Level Media