Milan, Italy
Day one of the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals is in the books with three of the four matches needing at least four sets to decide a winner.
The all 21-and under event featuring the best young stars in the Men’s game, provided some good tennis on the opening day with several players saying they enjoyed many of the special rule changes made for the event.
In the first match, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Jaume Munar 4-3, 4-3, 3-4, 4-2. In Milan, the players play the first to four games in each set with a tiebreaker used at 3-3.
The second match of the afternoon was arguably the best as Andrey Rublev, the only returning player in the group from a year ago, came back from two sets to one down to get past Taylor Fritz 4-2, 1-4, 3-4, 4-3, 4-2. Both players serving big combining for 25 aces between them.
In the night session, the other American in the tournament, Frances Tiafoe got past Hubert Hurkacz 4-1, 4-2, 2-4, 4-3. The final set a back and forth tiebreak which Tiafoe ended up winning 12-10.
The final match on Tuesday had World No. 31 Alex DeMinaur, the youngest player in the draw at 19-years old, easily beating Italian Wild Card Liam Caruana 4-1, 4-1, 4-2 in just 55 minutes.
Some of the other rules changes for the Next Gen event include players being responsible for their own towels at the back of the court, No-Ad scoring, players having access to a headset to speak with their coaches during changeovers and a “no let” rule on serves.
The other rule which seems to be the biggest positive with the players is the Hawk-eye scoring system. No line judges are on the court instead all lines are called by Hawk-eye.
“I like the Hawk-eye. It’s like the ref is not even there, he is completely irrelevant,” said Tiafoe. “Obviously, it’s quite expensive but that’s for the ATP to handle (laughing)”
Play resumes on Wednesday in Milan with the first match of the day between Hurkacz and Lunar beginning at 2pm local time.
***NOTE***
Tiafoe and Tsitsipas were alternates for last years Next Gen Finals. Rublev is the only player of the eight player field to play in both tournaments.
@Sportshorn
