Tennis News

Alcaraz: 'Your Rivals Give You Extra Motivation'

#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will lead the field at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan as he aims to capture the trophy on his debut at the event.

The 18-year-old has flourished under the guidance of coach Juan Carlos Ferrero this year, clinching his maiden tour-level title in Umag, before he enjoyed a run to his first major quarter-final at the US Open.

The World No. 35, who has earned Top 10 wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner in 2021, caught up with ATPTour.com ahead of competing in Milan.

A lot of the #NextGenATP players have been doing amazing things this year. How much does it motivate you, seeing other young players doing well? Is there anyone in particular who has really impressed you?

I’ve watched previous editions and I know that great players have come here that are now in Turin or are among the best in the world. To me, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will join them there. But it’s a tournament that’s a bonus and an experience that’ll be worth having in the future. I was impressed with Tsitsipas and [Andrey] Rublev, for example. I think their rise was fantastic. Players like that really do grab your attention. At the moment they are among the best in the world and it’s true that they have had the experience of playing in this tournament. But I’m purely focused on my own journey. I know that one tournament isn’t going to change my career

When you were growing up there was Roger, Rafa and Novak, who created great rivalries. As you’re competing with other #NextGenATP players, have you thought about your budding rivalries and playing against them for many years?

Having good rivalries on Tour is something you always dream of. Wanting to be good enough, avoiding defeat, all of this drives you forward. Your rivals give you extra motivation every day to be an increasingly better player. At the end of the season it’s a little harder after a whole year travelling. Having these kinds of tournaments and that rivalry with your peers helps you to stay focused for a long time.

Have you watched the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals before and if so, what were your thoughts?
I’ve watched this tournament on TV and I’ve always loved it. They put on a great show, the lights and the fans create a wonderful atmosphere. The format is also conducive to a lot of excitement. Personally, I like it.

The Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals always has many innovations. Were there any that you particularly enjoyed and look forward to using and if so, why?
My favourite rule is the coaching on court. It would be one of the things I would like to keep at tournaments. I think it’s a very interesting initiative. In all sports, both individual and team, there is a coach who can give you advice. It’d be good to see tennis take that step and let coaches form part of the match.

When you think of Italy, what do you think of?
Honestly, the food. The pasta, the pizza… that would be one of the first things that comes to my mind. We are careful about what we eat and after working hard in training and matches, it’s a pleasure to be in a country where the food is so good. Personally, I really enjoy it whenever I come to Italy.

Have you ever been sight-seeing in Italy and if so, what was your favorite place to visit?
I was here a couple of years ago and I was able to visit some places, although I didn’t manage to do too much. If I have some time I’d like to go out and visit something. I’ve heard that Milan has some very interesting places, although I haven’t managed to come as a tourist until now. I’ve been in a few cities on the ATP Challenger Tour, like Florence and Trieste, and I really liked what I was able to see. I hope to have the chance to see Rome properly.

What’s your favourite Italian food?
The pasta and the pizza. They are masters of it here. I have to make the most of it while I’m in the country.

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Emma Raducanu new coach: Torben Beltz as new coach

Britain’s Emma Raducanu is poised to work with Torben Beltz, who coached Angelique Kerber when she won two Grand Slams in 2016.

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Dylan Alcott: World number one wheelchair tennis player to retire after Australian Open

World number one Dylan Alcott will retire after January’s Australian Open, where he will seek an eighth successive wheelchair quad singles title.

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Winning & Grinning, Gaston Geared Up For Milan

Hugo Gaston could not wipe the smile off his face if he tried upon his arrival at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

The Frenchman was thrilled to be in Milan for the 21-and-under season finale. But the 21-year-old lefty, who was the last player to earn his place in the field, was over the moon following a week in Paris he will never forget.

The home favourite reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he qualified with wins against two-time major finalist Kevin Anderson and fellow Milan competitor Lorenzo Musetti before eliminating Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, former Top 10 star Pablo Carreno Busta and Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed this week in Milan.

“It was an amazing week for me, to play against the really, really good players,” Gaston told ATP Media. “It’s always different when we play at home. The atmosphere was just amazing. The crowd was just amazing for me.”

Gaston’s surge has certainly garnered plenty of attention. On Sunday’s Media Day at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, the World No. 67 spent nearly an hour and a half speaking to media from several countries and mediums, including written press, television broadcasters, French radio and social media.

“I’m pretty happy to be here with the best younger players in the world. For me, that’s a really good chance, to play against them,” Gaston said. “Of course I’m really happy about my year, because I’m here. That’s a really nice year for me and I’m going to enjoy the moment this week.”

The Toulouse-born lefty is an easygoing guy who is happy to discuss more than tennis, too. On one stop of his media circuit, he showed a social media team a picture he had of his friend’s rugby jersey. The 21-year-old never played the sport seriously, but his father, Thierry, did when he was younger.

Gaston laughs when recalling that one of his biggest wishes is that he could be taller — he stands 5’8” — but the Frenchman never lets that bother him. In the days of big serving and monstrous forehands, Hugo finds other ways to win, and he never backs down from a challenge.

That is exactly what he will get this week in Group B against Parma champion Sebastian Korda, home favourite Lorenzo Musetti and Argentine Sebastian Baez.

“The first goal for me here is to take a lot of fun on court, because we are lucky to play this kind of event,” Gaston said. “For me, it’s a [great] chance [just] to be here. Of course I’m going to try to win every match. It’s going to be hard, but we will see.”

Even if it does not go well, Gaston looks forward to learning from the experience, although of course he would prefer to take the title.

“It’s really nice when it’s difficult,” he said, cracking another grin.

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Rooftop Rally Stars Attend Next Gen ATP Finals

It has been some journey for two Italian youngsters since they captured the attention of the world during the peak of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, Vittoria, 14, and Carola, 12, took to their rooftops in Finale Ligure, Italy, to play tennis since courts were closed, and it has been a whirlwind ever since.

After becoming internet sensations, they met Roger Federer and then visited the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar earlier this year. Now they are in Milan attending the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

The girls spent Monday evening playing with #NextGenATP Argentine Sebastian Baez – who is competing in Milan – at the Allianz Cloud and will watch play at the 21-and-under event. It is an experience the pair are thoroughly enjoying.

“It was so strange playing with him [Baez] because he is a champion,” Vittoria told ATPTour.com. “It is amazing for us to play with him. We are really happy. It is different here to play without the tramlines, though! It felt smaller.”

Italian Lorenzo Musetti is making his debut in Milan and will carry home hopes as he aims to replicate countryman Jannik Sinner’s 2019 title run. Vittoria and Carola are big fans of the 19-year-old and are excited to watch him.

“Musetti is our favourite player because he is from Italy and I also like Sebastian Korda, he is great,” Vittoria added. “We are just really happy to be here because it is our first time in Milan.”

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Tiafoe Passes Tricky Stockholm Test

Eighth seed Frances Tiafoe levelled out after a late wobble against home favourite Elias Ymer at the Stockholm Open on Monday, edging through to win 6-4, 7-6(2) and reach second round.

Tiafoe recently took down Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to his biggest final at the ATP 500 in Vienna (l. to Zverev), but arrived in the Swedish capital looking to shake off an early exit at the Rolex Paris Masters. He wasted no time getting back in action, winning 79 per cent (41/52) of first-serve points and saving seven of the nine break points he faced in his first meeting against Ymer. 

Wild card Ymer, 25, sits at No. 167 in the FedEx ATP Rankings – but he pushed the No. 41 American to the edge after Tiafoe raced through the first set. 

Tiafoe was in full flight as he won 94 per cent (16/17) of points behind his own first serve, including a 42-second service game in the early exchanges. With the Swedish crowd willing him on, the Stockholm native took a 3-1 lead in the second set, but he couldn’t halt Tiafoe as the American closed out the match in a tie-break.

The eighth seed will next face the winner of Spain’s Pedro Martinez or Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori.

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov also features at the ATP 250 event, and he will start his campaign in Stockholm against Andrea Vavassori. The Italian defeated fellow qualifier Pavel Kotov 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.

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From #NextGenATP To Top 10 Talent, Who'll Graduate From Class of 2021?

Keep your eyes on Carlos Alcaraz, Sebastian Korda and the rest of the stars at this week’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. History shows that players who compete in the 21-and-under season finale move towards the top of the game quickly.

Daniil Medvedev is the only player to defeat Novak Djokovic in 28 major matches this season. The Russian’s maiden Grand Slam trophy made him the first champion from his country in New York since Marat Safin 21 years ago. He also became the first Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus to win a major, nearly four years after his debut in Milan.

In the three years that the championships for the best 21-and-under players has been held, many have already made huge strides on the ATP Tour. Six of the current Top 10 – Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner and Hubert Hurkacz – have contested the event.

And as fans prepare to descend on Milan for the fourth edition, they have ample reason to believe the likes of Alcaraz and Korda could go on to stamp their respective marks as among the sport’s very best.

Medvedev, who reached his first tour-level final in 2017, was the final automatic qualifier for the inaugural Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals that year and fell to eventual champion Hyeon Chung in the semi-finals. He landed his maiden Grand Slam match win that season over World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon.

Like Medvedev, Spanish 18-year-old Alcaraz notched his biggest career victory to date over a World No. 3, Tstisipas, in the third round of this year’s US Open. The Murcia native, a protégé of former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, already claimed his first title this season in Umag and was one of the first four qualifiers for Milan.

“Carlos is an amazing player,” Medvedev said after he defeated the teenager in their only prior ATP Head2Head meeting in the second round at Wimbledon this year. “Grass is definitely not his best surface, but he was giving it all there. Of course [in the] second and third sets, maybe the gap was too high. But I’m sure he’s going to be sooner or later in the Top 10 and maybe even higher.”

Medvedev and Tsitsipas are the two players who have competed in Milan and become a Nitto ATP Finals champion. Tsitsipas is the only player who has won both titles.

The Greek was an alternate at the 2017 event in Milan, but defeated Alex de Minaur for the trophy in 2018. Only 12 months later, he beat Medvedev, Zverev, Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem to land the Nitto ATP Finals crown.

Tsitsipas has since soared as high as World No. 3 in a career-best season, which includes his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo and his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. World No. 6 Rublev was the only player to compete in the first two editions in Milan, finishing runner-up in 2017 and in third place in 2018.

The 24-year-old has since won a tour-leading five titles in 2020 and reached his first two Masters 1000 finals this season in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati. He also clinched an Olympic mixed doubles gold medal with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Ruud has made a habit of passing his father’s previous benchmarks for Norwegian tennis in 2021 and has surged from World No. 27 to his current mark of World No. 8 after his fifth title of the season at San Diego. Ruud competed in Milan two years ago.

In less than two years, Sinner has gone from Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion to the Top 10, following his run to the semi-finals in Vienna and on the heels of his fourth title of the season in Antwerp. In 2019, he became the first Italian wild card to win a match in Milan and went all the way to the title with victory over De Minaur.

Poland’s Hurkacz, like Ruud, will make his Nitto ATP Finals debut in 2021. The last automatic qualifier for Milan in 2018, Hurkacz cracked the Top 10 in October this year as a result of three titles, including his first Masters 1000 trophy in Miami.

This year’s competitors have earned a commendable achievement by reaching Milan. And history shows the future will be even brighter.

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Showtime! Stars Ready To Shine In Milan

The stars of the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals are ready for the big show at the Allianz Cloud.

Following the arrival of Denmark’s Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, who won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Bergamo on Sunday, all eight players are now in Milan for the 21-and-under season finale. They took the official photo for the 2021 edition on centre court Monday afternoon.

Carlos Alcaraz, Brandon Nakashima, Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Rune are in Group A, while Sebastian Korda, Lorenzo Musetti, Sebastian Baez and Hugo Gaston are in Group B.

The action begins Tuesday, with the standout talents trying to join Hyeon Chung, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner as tournament champions. Play starts at 2 p.m. when Nakashima faces Cerundolo.

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Hurkacz Surges For Nitto ATP Finals Spot, Mover Of Week

7th Hubert Hurkacz, +3
The Pole started the Rolex Paris Masters 60 points outside of the final automatic qualification spot for the Nitto ATP Finals. But with a run to the semi-finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic, Hurkacz rose three spots to seventh position in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin and secured his place at the 14-21 November season finale.

View Latest FedEx ATP Race To Turin Standings

3rd Alexander Zverev, +1
The German moved up one place to third after he advanced to the Paris semi-finals (l. to Medvedev). Since the start of the Tokyo Olympics, where he clinched the gold medal, Zverev has won 28 of 31 matches and lifted trophies at the Western & Southern in Cincinnati (d. Rublev) and the Erste Bank Open (d. Tiafoe).

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
19th Taylor Fritz, +4
24th Grigor Dimitrov, +3
49th James Duckworth, +9
55thT Marcos Giron, +11
61st Hugo Gaston, +21
67th Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, +8

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Rune: 'You Have To Be Brave With No-Ad Scoring'

Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune begun the year No. 473 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Now the Dane is placed at a career-high No. 109, after triumphing at five ATP Challenger Tour events in 2021.

In a standout season, the 18-year-old also reached tour-level quarter-finals in Santiago and Metz and won a set against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round at the US Open.

Rune, who captured his latest Challenger title Sunday, will compete at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan this week and he spoke to ATPTour.com ahead of the 21-and-under event.

A lot of the #NextGenATP players have been doing amazing things this year. How much does it motivate you, seeing the other young players doing well? Is there anyone in particular who has really impressed you?
[Carlos] Alcaraz has been doing extremely well this year. All of the guys have been doing well this year, but especially him. He did well at the US Open reaching the quarter-finals and played a good level of tennis. We are all here because we have had brilliant years and it will be interesting to see who takes the title because it is different playing players who are all similar ages.

When you were growing up there were Roger, Rafa and Novak, who created great rivalries. As you’re competing with other #NextGenATP players, have you thought about your budding rivalries and playing against them for many years?
I think rivalries are one of the most important things. When [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and [Daniil] Medvedev play, the guys who are almost the same, it is interesting to watch because it is another aspect in the match. Also when you watch Novak vs Rafa or Roger vs Rafa it is fun and I think I would like to make rivalries with some of the players here.

Have you watched the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals before and if so, what were your thoughts?
I watched it when I was very young with my mum. She bought tickets for Christmas, an early Christmas gift in 2017. I went to Milan to watch the first edition when Hyeon Chung won and [Andrey] Rublev played and Medvedev and it was fun because back then when I was watching Medvedev, I didn’t think he would get to World No. 2 and now he is almost No. 1.

I think it was really fun because there is an extra passion in it. It inspires you and makes you believe even more that you can make it. If you make the top eight at the under-21 event, you have a good chance to make it at the Nitto ATP Finals in the future.

The Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals always has many innovations. Were there any that you particularly enjoyed and look forward to using and if so, why?
I like the rule system. Especially the no-Ad scoring because you have to be brave and take your chances. Also for the crowd, when I watched it I thought it was super interesting and the adrenaline raises.

When you think of Italy, what do you think of?
The food! The pasta. I would have pasta bolognese, that is my favourite. I could eat it at lunch and dinner every single time. I had some last night.

Have you ever done some sight-seeing in Italy and if so what was your favourite place to visit?
I have been to Italy a lot of times. When I was younger, we used to go during the Christmas holidays to Milan. I know the place almost like home. I have been here tons of times, exploring different places. I have played a lot of Challengers this year in Italy. I played in Perugia, in the middle of nowhere and it was beautiful. There are so many great places here.

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