#NextGenATP Stars Nominated For Newcomer Of The Year In 2023 Awards

They’ve arrived on the large stage, however they’re solely simply getting began: Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen, Dominic Stricker and Luca Van Assche are nominees for the Newcomer of the 12 months within the 2023 ATP Awards, to be introduced later this month.

Chosen by gamers, the award goes to the #NextGenATP participant who entered the High 100 for the primary time in 2023 and made the largest impression on the ATP Tour this season.

Flavio Cobolli, 21
“I need to be in the way forward for tennis, I don’t need to cease,” Cobolli instructed ATPTour.com after making his High 100 breakthrough in October.

The Italian earned his second profession ATP Challenger Tour title in Lisbon and reached the ultimate in Olbia two weeks later, turning into considered one of seven gamers to win at the very least 40 Challenger-level matches in 2023 (40-26).

“It was after all particular, as a result of this 12 months I labored rather a lot,” Cobolli stated of his Lisbon trophy run. “I performed 36 weeks, rather a lot. I used to be drained however I feel that title means rather a lot for me and for the season. However I do not need to cease now. I need to push extra for the targets of 2024.”

Cobolli certified for main main-draw debut at Roland Garros, the place he fell to then World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. The 21-year-old was additionally a quarter-finalist on the ATP 250 occasion in Munich.

Arthur Fils, 19
The youngest champion on the ATP Tour this 12 months? The heavy-hitting Fils, who triumphed on house soil in Could on the ATP 250 occasion in Lyon.

“I’ll bear in mind this perpetually,” Fils stated after successful the title. Following that dream run, Fils rose into the High 100 for the primary time. He didn’t cease there.

Regardless of having zero tour-level wins getting into the 12 months, the 19-year-old reached the semi-finals at one ATP 500 and 4 ATP 250 tournaments in 2023. Fils peaked at World No. 36 in October after reaching the ultimate in Antwerp, the place he downed Stefanos Tsitsipas within the final 4. The Frenchman closed the season with a finalist end on the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals offered by NEOM.

“It was a pleasant 12 months for certain. I began at 250 however completed at 36, in order that’s fairly good,” Fils stated. “It nonetheless might have been higher. I misplaced some shut matches, like I did [Saturday] nevertheless it’s simply expertise and I’ll attempt to do higher subsequent 12 months.”

Fils’ breakthrough season began from day one. He received his first 9 matches of the 12 months, together with a title run on the Oeiras Challenger. In February, he made essentially the most of alternatives to play at house, reaching the tour-level semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille.

Alex Michelsen, 19
For those who appeared on the High 600 firstly of January, you wouldn’t discover the American’s identify till the ultimate spot: 600.

Michelsen has risen greater than 500 spots this 12 months, with a shock finalist end in Newport highlighting his season. “I feel I’m going to wish a month [to process this],” stated Michelsen, who didn’t have an ATP Tour main-draw win earlier than that week. The teenager arrived on the grass-court event off the again of his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Chicago.

Michelsen introduced in August that he would forego his school eligibility, having beforehand dedicated to the College of Georgia. As an alternative the California native would flip professional and win his first major-main draw match on the US Open earlier than embarking on a late-season surge, successful 9 consecutive matches in November with a title run on the Knoxville Challenger adopted by a runner-up end in Champaign.

“For those who instructed me in January, once I was ranked 600 that I might be High 100 by November, I’d name you loopy,” Michelsen stated. “I didn’t suppose it might occur that shortly. I had a sense after the Newport run. I acquired to No. 140 and I assumed I might do it by the top of the 12 months, however I nonetheless was like, ‘Oh, High 100 remains to be sort of far-off.’ Now that I’ve executed it, it feels nice.”

^{Alex Michelsen on the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals offered by NEOM. Credit score: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
Dominic Stricker, 21
New heights have been reached in New York.

Stricker superior via US Open qualifying en path to a fourth-round look on the season’s last main. The Swiss surprised Stefanos Tsitsipas after firing 78 winners in a five-set, second-round thriller that lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes.

“I used to be down 3-5 after which I got here again within the fourth set. I do not understand how, however I did it in some way after which I saved taking part in very excessive degree tennis. I’m a bit speechless,” Stricker stated on the time.

With two ATP Challenger Tour titles to his identify in 2023 (Rovereto, Prague), it was the deep run at Flushing Meadows that propelled Stricker into the High 100 for the primary time on 11 September. The 21-year-old grew to become the youngest Swiss to succeed in the milestone since 20-year-old Stan Wawrinka did so in 2005.

“I really feel higher on court docket than I did final 12 months. I really feel like my recreation has improved once more,” Stricker instructed ATPTour.com in August. “I am additionally getting fitter body-wise, in order that helps for certain. I feel off court docket all the pieces acquired a bit extra critical. I am additionally working perhaps somewhat bit tougher than I did earlier than. I feel all the pieces is extra skilled than it was and that helps me for certain.”

The lefty earned one other High 10 victory in October, with this triumph coming in entrance of Stricker’s house crowd, upsetting Casper Ruud in Basel. Stricker closed the season with a second consecutive semi-final look on the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals offered by NEOM.

Luca Van Assche, 19
The ultimate week of the 2022 season was prophetic for the Frenchman, who received his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Maia to shut the 12 months.

Van Assche constructed upon his momentum, successful two consecutive Challenger titles spanning from February to March, each equally memorable. In Pau, {the teenager} saved two championship factors to defeat countryman Ugo Humbert within the longest Challenger last in historical past (three hours, 56 minutes). Van Assche then prolonged his successful streak to 10, triumphing on the Sanremo Challenger to make his High 100 debut.

“Two years in the past, I used to be like 1,000-something so I don’t suppose I might’ve anticipated to be High 100 now,” Van Assche stated in April. “Final 12 months, I used to be like 400. I used to be not anticipating this perhaps a 12 months or two in the past. It was very quick. In fact I used to be dreaming about it. I’m very proud and I simply need to be even higher now.”

The Brussels-born participant continued his breakthrough on the subsequent degree, incomes his maiden tour-level win in Estoril and attending to the second spherical of his house Slam, Roland Garros, the place he received the 2021 boys’ singles crown. 1 / 4-finalist in Hamburg and Metz, Van Assche was a semi-finalist on the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals.

^{Luca Van Assche celebrates successful the longest ATP Challenger Tour last in Pau. Credit score: Terega Open Pau Pyrenes}

from Tennis – ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/uLmUYxH