If Frances Tiafoe had accumulated 1,020 points in the ATP Race To Milan by this time last year, the #NextGenATP American would have already all but assured himself a spot in the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals. Tiafoe would have been only 64 points away from second place in the Race.

But this year, even with more than 1,000 rankings points in mid-September, the 20-year-old Tiafoe is still fighting to ensure that he’ll make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 6-10 November at the Fiera Milano.

The top seven players in the Race will qualify automatically, while the eighth spot will be reserved for the winner of an all-Italian qualifier tournament to be held just prior to the prestigious 21-and-under tournament.

Tiafoe is in fifth place in the Race, 325 points ahead of seventh-placed Andrey Rublev, last year’s finalist. But Tiafoe’s position shows how well the 2018 #NextGenATP group has done this season, even after the 2017 class set a high bar.

The current top five players in the Race all have more than 1,000 points. By this time last year, however, only two players – first-placed Alexander Zverev of Germany and second-placed Rublev – had earned more than 1,000 points.

“That’s unheard of for right now. A lot of guys in the Top 50, Top 40, 30. There’s a good level between all of us,” said Tiafoe, who’s at No. 40 in the ATP Rankings, two spots off his career-high. “It’s just shocking how well we’re doing at such a young age. But no reason to get satisfied. There’s plenty more to chase, plenty more things to get.”

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For Tiafoe, that means aiming for a strong finish to guarantee himself a position at the 21-and-under event. Players must have been born in 1997 or later to be eligible. Last year, Tiafoe narrowly missed out, finishing 110 points behind final qualifier Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

“I’m liking my spot right now. It would be fun to end the year out there,” Tiafoe said.

This year’s #NextGenATP players have implicitly motivated each other throughout the season. One person will do well – such as when Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas beat four Top 10 players en route to the Rogers Cup final in Toronto, or when 19-year-old Denis Shapovalov of Canada become the youngest semifinalist in Mutua Madrid Open history – causing another #NextGenATP player to sit up on his sofa.

“You see a young guy do well, you’re like, ‘Screw that. If they can do it, why not?’ It’s kind of been [doing] the domino effect that way,” Tiafoe said.

He has done some of the motivating as well. Tiafoe won his maiden ATP World Tour title in February at the Delray Beach Open, becoming the youngest American champion on tour since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston. The 20-year-old Tiafoe also reached the fourth round at two ATP Masters 1000 events – Miami and Toronto – and made his first Grand Slam third round at Wimbledon.

“I feel on any given day I’m ready to beat anyone. I’m not really nervous walking on the court. I feel right at home,” Tiafoe said.

The ATP Race To Milan standings on 29 October 2018, the Monday after the Swiss Indoors Basel and the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna, will determine the seven qualifiers. While ATP Rankings points for the 2018 season decide who qualifies for the event, rankings points will not be awarded at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Nine months into the 2018 ATP World Tour season and the countdown to the Nitto ATP Finals in November begins. Here are the top five stories of the third quarter.

Djokovic On The Charge
Novak Djokovic continued his charge post-Wimbledon, winning 15 of his past 16 matches on the North American swing. The Serbian, who captured his fourth trophy at Wimbledon on 15 July, did not let up on the North American hard-court swing with his 31st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (d. Federer). It helped him to become the first player in history to complete a Career Golden Masters of all nine Masters 1000 tournaments and, three weeks later, in New York City, the Serbian clinched his 14 Grand Slam championship crown – and his third US Open title (d. Del Potro). Djokovic has put together a 34-4 match record in his past seven tournaments — which includes winning the Wimbledon and US Open in the same year for the third time (also 2011 and 2015). 

Rafael Nadal, who has been World No. 1 for the past 12 weeks, is now 1,035 points ahead of second-placed Djokovic in the year-to-date ATP Race To London after a dramatic shift in momentum. Nadal captured his 33rd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown last month at the Rogers Cup (d. Tsitsipas) to further strengthen his hold on the top spot and his bid to become year-end No. 1 for the fifth time (2008, 2010, 2013 and 2017). With two Masters 1000s and four 500 events left in the regular season, which ends on 4 November, in-form Djokovic now also has the prospect of adding to his 2011-12, 2014-15 year-end No. 1 finishes. Nadal fell to Juan Martin del Potro in the US Open semi-finals and now looks to recover sufficiently from knee tendinitis in what could be a intriguing end to 2018. 

Tsitsipas Makes Breakthrough
Stefanos Tsitsipas showcased his potential during the spring European clay-court swing, learning a terrific amount from his loss to Nadal in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final. Afterwards, Tsitsipas admitted, “The patience that Rafa has is amazing. He never cracks. He will always grab you like a bulldog.” Fast forward five months and the 6’4″ Greek soon turned around a 5-9 record on hard courts in 2018 with two deep runs in North America. Tsitsipas initially grew in confidence in tricky, wet conditions at the Citi Open, where he beat No. 11-ranked David Goffin en route to the semi-finals (l. to A. Zverev). He then headed to Toronto, for the Rogers Cup, and overcame four Top 10 opponents – Dominic Thiem, Djokovic, Zverev and Kevin Anderson – for a place in the final, where he met Nadal on his 20th birthday. Tsitsipas, who 12 months earlier was at No. 168 in the ATP Rankings, was the youngest player to beat four Top 10 stars at a single tournament since the ATP World Tour was established in 1990. He is now at World No. 15 and among the leading contenders for a spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

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Nadal, Djokovic, Federer Clinch Nitto ATP Finals Spots
A trio of players, Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer, all booked their places at the Nitto ATP Finals in the third quarter of the season. Nadal clinched his spot for the 14th straight year as a result of beating Marin Cilic in the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on 11 August, while five-time former season finalist titlist Djokovic and six-time former champion Federer booked their berths for the 11th and 16th time, respectively, on 8 September. 

US Open finalist Del Potro, who is up to third place in the ATP Race To London, is now on the cusp of qualifying for the first time since 2013 – and for the fifth time overall. In his past three tournaments, Del Potro went 11-3, which also included finishing runner-up at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex (l. to Fognini).

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John Isner and Kei Nishikori, who both sit outside the automatic qualification berths, will look to make up ground in the autumn. Isner, a quarter-finalist at the US Open (l. to Del Potro), aims to made his debut in London, but is 435 points (2,930) behind eighth-placed Dominic Thiem (3,365). US Open semi-finalist Nishikori, with 2,475 points, attempts to qualify at The O2 for the fourth time (also 2014-16).

2018 ATP RACE TO LONDON SECOND, THIRD QUARTER COMPARISON

* Qualified for 2018 Nitto ATP Finals

Fognini Still Perfect In Finals This Year
Fatherhood must suit Fabio Fognini. Since the birth of his son, Federico, in May 2017, the Italian has refocused to reach seven of his 17 singles finals and this year he has lifted three ATP World Tour titles – the Brasil Open (d. Jarry) in February and, in the past two months, the SkiStar Swedish Open (d. Gasquet) and Los Cabos (d. del Potro). It’s the third time in his career that Fognini has reached three final in a season (also 2013-14). This week, the 31-year-old Italian returned to a career-high No. 13 in the ATP Rankings for the first time since April 2014.

Zverev, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov Among 2018 #NextGenATP Leaders
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov trail Alexander Zverev in the ATP Race To Milan for a berth at the 21-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals in November. Zverev put together a 9-3 record on hard courts in his past four tournaments, including a third ATP World Tour title of the year at the Citi Open. The German defeated fast-rising Australian Alex de Minaur, who has an 18-15 match record this year, including the Sydney International final (l. to Medvedev), and currently holds down the fourth spot in the Race standings. Americans Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Jaume Munar of Spain also feature among the Top 8 in the battle for a Milan spot.

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