Luca Van Assche beat Abdullah Shelbayh 4-3 (7-5) 3-4 (5-7) 4-1 4-1 to move to 1-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.
Shelbayh thrilled the crowd with net approaches and drop shots but he converted just 2 of his 17 break points.
Both players were making their first appearance at the Next Gen Finals.
Shelbayh hit 28 winners to Van Assche’s 17. Van Assche made only 19 unforced errors to Shelbayh’s 34.
Van Assche earned an early break in the first game and saved three break points to hold serve on the deciding point in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Shelbayh broke back at love in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Van Assche came back from 2-4 down to win the tie-break 7-5.
The second set went on serve en route to the tie-break. Van Assche saved four break points in the third game to hold serve on the deciding point. Shelbayh earned four set points at 6-2. Van Assche saved the first three set points to claw his way back to 5-6, but Shelbayh earned his fourth mini-break with a drop-shot to seal the tie-break 7-5.
Van Assche broke twice in the first and fifth games to win the third set 4-1. Shelbayh converted his third break point in the first game of the fourth set to take a 1-0 lead, but Van Assche won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve.
Van Assche won seven of the ten deciding points of the match.
“It was a tough match today against a tough opponent. I know Abdullah very well. He is an amazing player. He was almost at home with the crowd cheering for him. It was a good match for me and really tough from the beginning to the end. It is very difficult not to have a warm-up. I just hit a couple of balls before I entered the court”, said Van Assche.
Shelbayh received a strong support of the crowd from neighbouring Jordan.
Medjedovic beats Michelsen in five sets
Hamad Medjedovic beat Alex Michelsen 4-2 4-3 (7-3) 3-4 (3-7) 3-4 (5-7) 4-3 (7-4) in Jeddah in the longest match in the history of the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Medjedovic won 17 points more than Michelsen and saved nine of the eleven break points he faced.
Medjedovic broke Michelsen with a deep return in the third game of the first set. Medjedovic consolidated the break with a hold in the fourth game and served for the first set at 3-2. The Serbian player fired four winners in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2 in 18 minutes.
Michelsen faced three break points at the start of the second set. The US player saved them and won the deciding point at 1-1. Medjedovic converted the third break point and served for the set at 3-2. The Serbian player faced faced a break point and saved it with a volley. Michelsen won a decisive point with a backhand crosscourt winner to draw level to 3-3 setting up a tie-break, which started with five mini-breaks in the opening six points. Medjedovic earned three mini-breaks and fired a serve at 5-3 to seal the tie-break 4-3 moving two sets to love after 52 minutes.
Both players saved a break point in the third set and held their serve setting up another tie-break. Michelesen hit a service winner at 6-3 to close out the third set.
The fourth set also went on serve en route to the tie-break. Michelsen clinched a mini-break at 3-3 and earned three set points with two serves. Medjedovic fended off the first two set points before Michelsen converted his third chance when Medjedovic made a backhand error forcing the match to the decider after 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Medjedovic held three service games and forced a deciding point on return in the fourth game. Michelsen won the “killer point” with a service winner. The fifth set was decided by a tie-break. Both players traded four mini-breaks. Michelsen went up a 4-3 lead in the tie-break, but Medjedovic won two consecutive points to take a 5-4 lead. The Serbian player hit a forehand to take a 6-4 and sealed the win on his first match point with a deep return.
Medjedovic fired 47 winners, including 14 aces.
Medjedovic arrived in Jeddah at 1 a.m. on Monday after being part of the Serbian team in the Davis Cup semifinal.
“It’s a very special feeling to win my first match at this tournament. When he levelled at two sets all I felt he had the momentum after I didn’t use the chances that I had. I was lucky that I played the last match today. I watched these guys and saw how they were doing, and I was ok with the rules”, said Medjedovic.