Frances Tiafoe made a winning start to his campaign at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan with a 4-1 4-2 2-4 4-3 (12-10) win over Pole Hubert Hurkacz after 1 hour and 22 minutes.
Tiafoe hit 11 aces and saved six of the seven break point he faced. The 20-year-old US player hit 29 winners to 18 unforced errors. Hurkacz dropped his serve twice from the seven break points he faced. Tiafoe won the first two sets without dropping his serve. Hurkacz won just 47 % of his first-serve points.
Tiafoe drew the first blood with a break at love in the fourth game when Hurkacz netted a backhand. The 2018 Delray Beach champion saved the break points he faced with his serve in the fifth game to seal the first set 4-1.
Tiafoe dropped two points on serve and earned the break in the fifth game at love before holding serve at love to wrap up the second set 4-2.
Hurkacz saved all five break points he faced in the first and fifth games and broke serve in the sixth game to clinch the third set 4-2.
Tiafoe won the killer point at 1-2 in the fourth set. Hurkacz did not convert two set points at 7-6 and 9-8 before facing the fourth match point at 11-10 in the tie-break, when he faced a double fault. Tiafoe converted his fifth match point with a forehand winner in a dramatic 22-point tie-break.
“The tie-break was very interesting. He just kept coming with heat. He had nerves. I am happy with him. He has had a great year. He was pretty low-ranked. He got in the top 100. He snuck in here winning the Brest Challenger. I played here earlier this year. I knew it was going to be tough and I came out playing well. With this format things can get close quite quick. Things can be on eone-sided in the first two sets. I came out pretty hot and then. You are never out of the match. You geto ne break. I mean, he serves well. It could easily have been playing a fifth set. He served well and it was good for him. I like the rules. Things were moving quick. The only rule I don’t like is the towel rack, especially we are going pretty quick. I walk pretty slow, so I knew I could not get quite there. I had some time violations. I don’t know what the other guys have said, but I need the ball boys the get the twoel for me, but I am having fun. I don’t know if I am going to win, but I know I am going to play well. For all seven guys who in, we are celebrating a great year, because it was tough to get here and it’s a huge honour to play in this event”, said Tiafoe.
In the final match of the evening session world number 31 and this year’s Sydney and Washington finalist Alex De Minaur cruised past Italian wild card Liam Caruana 4-1 4-1 4-2 in just 56 minutes. Caruana hit 7 winners to 21 unforced errors and did not convert both the two break points he faced. De Mianur converted four of the ten break points he faced.
Caruana fended off three break points in the first game of the match but De Minaur broke serve at love in the third game. De Minaur reeled off four straight points at 3-1 to seal the opening set after Caruana made a forehand error.
De Minaur fended off a break point at the start of the second set and converted his third break point in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. He hit a service winner on the killer point of the fifth point to wrap up the second set 4-1. The Australian player earned another break in the third game and sealed the win with three service winners.
“It was fun. The whole week I was really looking forward to playing with the new format and it was fun. I actually did not feel too much of a difference. I enjoyed every second out there. The atmosphere was great and I could not think of a better way to start. The court is quick. I could not expect a better start. I trained in Australia and Spain and I learned a lot from both countries”, said De Minaur.
On Wednesday De Minaur will face Andrey Rublev, who beat Taylor Fritz in five sets. The Aussie player beat his Russian rival in the semifinal in Washington last August. De Minuar would qualify with a win over Rublev in three or four sets.
