After three days of group play on the Intesa Sanpaolo Subsequent Gen ATP Finals, the semi-finals are set for Friday in Milan.
Group winners Brandon Nakashima and Dominic Stricker will each look to take their robust kind into the knockout rounds after ending the round-robin stage with good 3-0 information. The American will face Jack Draper in a Prime 50 showdown whereas Stricker meets Jiri Lehecka, with each second-place finishers securing their progress with wins on Thursday.
We glance forward with previews of each marquee matchups on the Allianz Cloud.
[ATP APP]
[4] Brandon Nakashima (USA) vs. [3] Jack Draper (GBR)
Considered one of two returning gamers in Milan, together with Lorenzo Musetti, Nakashima has matched his 2021 outcome on the 21-and-under occasion by reaching the semis. Set to age out of the competitors subsequent season, the skilled American has attacked this 12 months’s occasion with nice function. He enters his assembly with Draper on the heels of seven consecutive units gained; after a five-set victory in opposition to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in his opening match, he scored straight-sets wins in opposition to Lehecka and Francesco Passaro to seal his place atop the Inexperienced Group.
The fourth seed improved with every round-robin match and used a dominant serving efficiency to ease previous Passaro on Thursday, 4-3(4), 4-2, 4-1, saving the one break level in opposition to him. Nakashima’s dominance on his personal supply is demonstrated by his 8.6 Serve Quality score, a metric which makes use of a wide range of statistical inputs to measure a shot’s effectiveness on a 10-point scale.
“I believed my degree was actually excessive at present,” Nakashima mentioned after defeating Passaro. “It was good to see it carrying over from yesterday. To come back out and play like that was tremendous particular.”
Whereas Nakashima wanted to win just one set in opposition to the Italian to ensure progress to the knockout rounds, Draper confronted a win-or-go-home matchup in opposition to residence favorite Musetti on Thursday night. The Briton performed his greatest match of the week in a 4-1, 4-0, 4-3(3) win to disclaim the Italian an prolonged run in entrance of the Milan crowd.
“I like crowds, if they’re with me or not,” Draper mentioned after the victory. “That is what I’ve needed to do since after I was youthful. I needed to entertain individuals. Because of this I prepare daily.”
He’ll hope to get pleasure from extra assist as he seeks handy Nakashima his first lack of the week.
“Brandon’s clearly enjoying nice tennis,” the Briton mentioned, waiting for Friday evening’s match. “He is gained that group, prime of the group, so after I play him tomorrow I do know it should be a very difficult match. Hopefully I can play the identical manner I did at present.”
[FOLLOW ACTION]
Draper didn’t face a break level in opposition to Musetti and can goal to make use of his serve and highly effective floor sport to pin the American again on the slick exhausting courts. However Nakashima’s sport can be primarily based on aggression, with the American hitting his solution to his first ATP Tour title earlier this season in his residence metropolis of San Diego.
Count on a heavy dose of first-strike tennis as each males search their first title in Milan. If their Pepperstone ATP Rankings are any indication, this one might go right down to the wire: Nakashima is the World No. 49, whereas Draper sits at a career-high No. 41.
[7] Dominic Stricker (SUI) vs. [5] Jiri Lehecka (CZE)
Stricker didn’t simply survive the loaded Crimson Group — he thrived by incomes victories in opposition to the 2 highest-ranked gamers within the Milan discipline. However the Swiss’ wins didn’t come simply in opposition to Draper and World No. 23 Musetti.
In an all-lefty battle, he edged Draper in three tie-breaks regardless of a one-for-seven mark on break factors. Stricker adopted that up with a historic 4-3(5), 4-3(6), 3-4(7), 3-4(6), 4-3(3) win in opposition to Musetti wherein he fired a tournament-record 20 aces. The late-night thriller is the one match within the historical past of the occasion to function 5 tie-breaks.
With one eye on the semi-finals, his standing as group winner secured after Day 2, Stricker accomplished his good group marketing campaign with a dominant victory in opposition to Chun-Hsin Tseng on Thursday — no tie-breaks wanted.
“It was not straightforward for me to return out right here and play my greatest once more as a result of mentally, after all you are already pondering a bit extra of tomorrow, of the semis,” Stricker mentioned post-match. “However I believe dealt with it very properly, I performed an amazing match and I am tremendous pleased with my efficiency. Now I can assume all about tomorrow.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Lehecka secured his semi-final place with a straight-sets win in opposition to Arnaldi on Thursday. He beat two Italians to advance, incomes a gap win in opposition to Passaro on Tuesday, additionally in three units.
“After I got here right here, my aim was to qualify for the semi-finals after which something can occur,” the Czech mentioned after advancing to the knockout rounds. “I’m trying ahead to tomorrow.”
The 21-year-old can draw from his expertise of reaching the semis in Rotterdam, the place he got here by way of qualifying to make a shock run on the ATP 500 occasion, claiming his first tour-level wins within the course of. Whereas he misplaced to 2019 Milan champ Stefanos Tsitsipas in that semi-final, Lehecka is now two wins away from matching the Greek’s feat on the Intesa Sanpaolo Subsequent Gen ATP Finals.
from Tennis – ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/VQuZTWa
.jpg)
