Best in class go back to school in Jeddah
It was back to school – albeit briefly – for players in Jeddah Tuesday.
One day ahead of the start of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, the eight competitors gathered for a briefing detailing the innovations, rule changes, history and purpose of the tournament, which annually showcases the sport’s best 20-and-under players.
“It’s nice to be here and to know every rule and also all the things that the staff and everyone behind this big tournament have done for us over the whole year,” said Spain’s Martin Landaluce, who will make his Jeddah debut after serving as last year’s alternate. “It’s nice to be here and to meet the people who are working to make our life better.”
The innovative tournament, first staged in Milan in 2017, features five sets of first-to-four games, reduced time between points, expanded free fan movement, video review and a reduced three-minute warm-up.
[ATP APP]A shot clock will keep matches flowing, with no more than eight seconds allowed between first and second serves and a limit of 15 seconds between points that end in fewer than three shots.
“I like the rules,” Landaluce said. “I like to play to four games; it makes the game dynamic and makes players try to start better and be more energetic.”
Players and coaches will have comprehensive data insights available to fine-tune tactics. Live access to ATP Tennis IQ Powered by PIF data that tracks player performance will be available on tablets provided in courtside team boxes, allowing coaches to communicate takeaways to players during matches as part of the normal on-court coaching protocol.
Players and coaches will receive video footage tagged with match data post-match. A dedicated tennis analyst is on site for individual education sessions with teams.
More in-arena match statistics and data analytics will be available to fans.
“Sport is increasingly data driven, so providing these stats and analytics to players, teams and fans represents the future direction of the game,” said Tournament Director Adam Hogg.
The eight players compete in two groups Wednesday through Friday, with the semi-finals on Saturday and final Sunday.
Top seed and last year’s finalist Learner Tien leads Blue Group, which features both Spanish players in the eight-man field – Landaluce and Rafael Jodar – plus Norway’s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer.
Belgian Alexander Blockx heads Red Group, which also features Croatian Dino Prizmic, returning American Nishesh Basavareddy and 18-year-old German Justin Engel, the youngest player in the field.
See Day 1 schedule
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