Matteo Arnaldi has given Italy a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup final against Australia after staring down eight break points in the deciding set against Alexei Popyrin.

In contrast to the opportunities missed by Popyrin, the 22-year-old seized the moment when presented with his first match point in the 10th game of the decider to emphatically close out a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 victory in two hours and 27 minutes.

It was vindication for the former Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier, who squandered three match points against Botic van de Zandschulp in Italy’s 2-1 win over The Netherlands.

“I didn’t play much in the last few weeks, so I was happy after the first match even if I lost,” Arnaldi said. “Now I have won one of the most important matches in my life.”

World No. 4 Jannik Sinner will now attempt to clinch the final for Italy when he takes on World No. 12 Alex de Minaur.

Dominic Stricker, Alex Michelsen and Abdullah Shelbayh were among the world’s leading 21-and-under players getting a different view of the press conference room at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM Sunday. Instead of sitting behind the microphone answering questions, players perched in media seats while taking a briefing on the signature rules and innovations in play at the tournament, which will run 28 November-2 December at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City.

Stricker is the only member of the field who has played the event before, but even he will need to adapt to new conditions as the evolving event continues to serve as a testing ground for rule changes and innovation.

“No warm up will be interesting. Usually you have a few minutes to find your game, so this will be something different,” Stricker said.

“I like the new time rules with eight seconds between first and second serves and also 15 seconds between points when rallies are short. That’s a good one because you can save a lot of time after those short points. Some players may think they need more time, but I feel it’s a really good idea.”

World No. 94 Alex Michelsen, who this time last year was around 600 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and celebrating Thanksgiving in California, said that he also was comfortable with the abbreviated time between first and second serves.

“I just have three bounces, so eight seconds between first and second serves shouldn’t be an issue for me,” he said.

Jordanian Abdullah Shelbayh, who received a wild card into the tournament, said he was looking forward to playing under a different set of rules.

“I think it’s going to be more exciting and more challenging as everyone gets used to the quicker speed of play,” Shelbayh said. “And with the short sets to four games, matches can be decided by just a few points, so I think that will being out the best in us.

“The rule I may find challenging is the free fan movement, because I’ve not had that before. We’re used to people walking around the court at practice, but to do it in a match will be a new experience.”

Arthur Fils” />

Changes for 2023 are set to accelerate the event’s fast-paced format, enhance the fan experience, and enrich data and analytics for players, coaches and fans:

• No on-court warm-up: Matches will start immediately after the coin toss, with a separate practice court available for warm-ups.
• Shot-Clock Reductions: A new maximum of eight seconds will be introduced between first and second serves. This also applies after a let on first or second serve. As in previous editions, time between points will be reduced from 25 to 15 seconds if the previous point includes fewer than three shots.
• Wearables: Players will be able to track and visualise biometric data during matches via wearable devices – providing a comprehensive overview of their physical performance and stress responses.
• Insights: A new Physicality Index, developed by Tennis Data Innovations and Kinexon, will capture physical exertion through player and ball-tracking technology. Existing TDI insights such as Shot Quality will be leveraged in stadium for the first time.
• In-match analytics: The newly launched Tennis IQ platform will be available to coaches sitting courtside along with data-tagged video footage, with match data updated in real time and visualised in stadium.
• Basecamp: A new pre-event, off-court competition, Basecamp, will measure the skills and physicality of players through a series of tests, creating new ways for fans to analyse the game’s rising stars.
• Lower umpire chair to reduce the visual obstruction for fans in the arena. Live Electronic Line Calling remains in place on all line calls.
• Simplified scoreboard for improved fan engagement and understanding.

Continued from previous editions:

• Scoring format will be best of five tie-break sets. Each set will be first to four games with a tie-break played at 3-3. Games will be played using the No-Ad scoring format with the server choosing the service box.
• Free fan movement allowed in stadium, except behind the baselines.
• Reduced changeovers: No change of ends after the first game of a set. At the end of the set, players will sit down for 90 seconds (down from 120 seconds).

The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City from 28 November-2 December 2023, with a record US $2 million prize money on offer.

The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM begins on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, but first, the 21-and-under stars visited Al-Balad, the historic old town of Jeddah, for this year’s official group photo.

Ahead of the first ATP-sanctioned event to be held in Saudi Arabia, players took time to visit the historical sites in Al-Balad, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

“We’ve had a really fun time,” said 19-year-old American Alex Michelsen. “Everyone’s been having a lot of laughs. People were great and to see the old city was really, really cool.”

Jordanian Abdullah Shelbayh received a wild card for the event. The Arab star enjoyed spending time with his competitors in Jeddah, where the players spent time exploring the local markets.

“It was exciting to do this with the players, they are pretty funny guys,” Shelbayh said. “It was good to spend some time together outside of competition.”

Frenchman Arthur Fils, who won his maiden tour-level title in Lyon earlier this season, showed off his driving skills in Al-Balad. The 19-year-old drove his fellow stars around in a buggy, receiving cheers of support.

“It was good,” Fils said. “I was driving the boys, it was easy. Everyone was smiling and laughing. It is nice to be with the boys as it is not often. It is a great city. It is nice and the people here are very welcoming. I am liking it.”

Fils’ countryman Luca Van Assche practised for the first time in Jeddah on Saturday before visiting the city.

“It is an incredible experience for us,” Van Assche said. “I have never been here so it is a new country for me and civilisation and I am happy to be here to see some of the city. It is very beautiful.”

Two Italians, Luca Nardi and Flavio Cobolli, will make their debuts at the 21-and-under event. Both had fun sightseeing and playing rooftop tennis at the visitor centre.

“It is very nice here,” Nardi said. “We are having a very good day visiting the city. I like it and the people are very nice. My first time playing tennis on a roof. It was very nice and seeing kids come. It was a nice atmosphere.”

“It was a great day and I’m very happy to be here with the Next Gen class,” Cobolli said.

Green Group consists of Fils, Stricker, Cobolli and Nardi. Red Group consists of Van Assche, Michelsen, Medjedovic and Shelbayh.

Seven of the eight competitors are tournament debutants, with the exception of 2022 semi-finalist Stricker.

“It was a great tour,” Stricker said. “We saw a few things of Jeddah. Seeing the old buildings and taking pictures. It is a good event and I am looking forward to playing.”

Hamad Medjedovic was absent as he was a member of the Serbia team at the Davis Cup Finals.

The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM’s arrival in Jeddah is set to inspire a generation of young Saudi tennis enthusiasts — and not least those who will be just metres from the action next week at King Abdullah Sports City.

The first ATP-sanctioned event ever to be held in Saudi Arabia will take place from 28 November-2 December. It will be a historic moment for tennis in the Gulf nation and promises to be a particularly memorable one for the 19-strong team of ballkids, aged between 10 and 15, who will be on hand to help ensure the event runs smoothly.

“I’m really excited. I play tennis five or six times a week, so I had ballboy training a couple of times a week too,” ballboy Sulaiman Ashoor told ATPTour.com on Saturday in Jeddah. “I have seen live tennis before at a tournament in Riyadh. I saw Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem. It was really fun. I like seeing the players up close because if they can do it, it means I can do it.”

Sulaiman’s sister Tala Ashoor is one of six ballgirls on the team. A keen tennis fan and player like her brother, Tala is ready to relish the experience of being on court with some of the world’s best young professional players.

“I’m really excited, it’s my first time being a ballkid, but I’m also nervous,” said Tala, who was asked to take part in training for the event via her tennis coach. “The training was a lot, but it’s fun. My friends and family will come to watch when I am on court.”

Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM.” />

_{^{Tala Ashoor is one of the ballkids in Jeddah. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}

Like her brother Sulaiman, Tala enjoys playing tennis and other sports in her spare time and particularly looks up to a trailblazer of the Arab sporting world.

“I play tennis six times a week and my favourite player is (Tunisian WTA star) Ons Jabeur,” said Tala. “I play tennis mainly, but I also like ping-pong.”

Ten-year-old Abdulaziz Aloqibi is hoping that spending time under the lights on the indoor hard court in King Abdullah Sports City will be a small stepping stone on his own path to a future in professional tennis.

“I’m excited because my dream is to become a tennis player and I really want to meet tennis players,” said Abdulaziz. “When I grow up, I want to know what it’s like to be on the court and how it feels to be in front of thousands.

“I play tennis six days a week, for two hours. My favourite player here is definitely Dominic Stricker, I really like him. On the ATP Tour I also like Novak Djokovic.”

Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM” />

_{^{A ballkid at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}

Regardless of what their future holds, the ballkids standing on court this week will have a unique opportunity to witness top-level pros competing against each other at close distance.

“I’m really excited about this because it is a first-time experience,” said Fares Ayman. “To be on a court where players are playing. I’m really excited but it’s making me nervous at the same time. I only saw tennis on TV before, so that’s making me more nervous.

“I play maybe six days a week and have done for the past two years. I like Rafael Nadal because he’s left-handed like me, and a fighter. He doesn’t leave any ball.”

Less than a week after their meeting in the Nitto ATP Finals title match, Jannik Sinner scored swift revenge against Novak Djokovic on Saturday in the Davis Cup semi-finals.

In a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 singles victory, the Italian saved three match points by escaping 0/40 at 4-5 in the final set and broke immediately after to seize control of the match in Malaga. Sinner’s heroics kept Italy alive in the semi-final tie after Miomir Kecmanovic opened the day’s play with a 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-1 victory against Lorenzo Musetti.

Sinner then teamed with Lorenzo Sonego to defeat Djokovic and Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 in a decisive doubles match, sending Italy into its first Davis Cup final since 1998. Returning finalists Australia will provide the opposition in Sunday’s title tilt.

‘It was a roller coaster,” Sinner said of his two-hour, 35-minute singles victory against the World No. 1 — a description that also applies to the tie as a whole. “I was starting off really well. Second set he played much better than me. Third set I tried to serve really well, and also on match points down I served well.

“Happy to still be in the competition. We were one point away from being out.”

FINALISTI 🇮🇹

Italy are in the Davis Cup final for the first time since 1998! #DavisCupFinals | @federtennis pic.twitter.com/tG3jCBdrCb

— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 25, 2023

In the singles showdown, Sinner saved seven of nine break points, including five in the final set, to keep Italy’s Davis Cup dream alive. Djokovic faced just one break point across the final two sets, but Sinner claimed it in style with a forehand passing shot before confidently serving out the match.

While Djokovic found success with aggressive play in the second and third sets, he was unable to drag Sinner into a rally on his three match points. The Italian then capitalised on a brief dip from his opponent to bring up his first break point since the opening set, and he whipped a forehand down the line past a stranded Djokovic to move decisively ahead.

From 4-5, 0/40, Sinner won 13 of the match’s final 16 points.

The result improved Sinner to 2-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head with Djokovic overall and 2-2 this season, with his previous win coming last week in the Nitto ATP Finals group stage. Their Malaga meeting was their second match this season to require a decisive set, with Sinner previously winning a third-set tie-break in Turin.

The drama of the pivotal doubles match belied the straightforward scoreline. After Sinner and Sonego won the opening set by claiming its lone break point, there were a combined 10 break chances in a thrilling second set. Following an early trade of breaks, the Italians fought out of a 0/40 hole at 2-3, saving four break points in a marathon game before breaking to lead 4-3.

They erased another break point as they served out the match to clinch a 2-1 victory in the semi-final tie and send Italy into its eighth Davis Cup final. The country is seeking its second title after first lifting the Davis Cup trophy 1976.

The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM are set to debut in Jeddah this coming week, with eight of the game’s brightest young stars in the field.

Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche, both 19, lead their respective round-robin groups, while Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker returns to the innovative year-end event for the second straight year.

ATPTour.com breaks down five of the biggest storylines in Jeddah.

1) Frenchmen In Front: The top-seeded Fils and second-seeded Van Assche will hope to live up to their billing in the Green Group and Red Group, respectively. Fils enters Jeddah at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of World No. 36, having followed a home-nation title in Lyon in May with a run to the Antwerp final last month. Van Assche won two ATP Challenger Tour singles title this season and travelled to Jeddah after two tournaments on home soil in Paris-Bercy and Metz.

2) Stricker Returns: The 21-year-old, seeded seventh last year at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, arrives in Jeddah as the third seed this year. The Swiss completed a perfect 3-0 group campaign in Milan but was beaten by Jiri Lehecka in the semi-finals. In addition to winning two ATP Challenger Tour titles this season, Stricker made his first Grand Slam appearances in 2023; he qualified at the last three majors of this season, advancing to the fourth round in his US Open debut.

3) Italians Cobolli, Nardi In Same Group: Flavio Cobolli and Luca Nardi join Fils and Stricker in the Green Group, after three Italians — Lorenzo Musetti, Francesco Passaro and Matteo Arnaldi — represented Italy at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. Cobolli made his Top 100 debut in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this season behind a strong campaign on the ATP Challenger Tour, while Nardi enters Jeddah two places off his career-high ranking at World No. 118.

4) Michelsen, Medjedovic, Shelbayh Round Out Red Group: American Alex Michelsen made a splash by reaching the Newport final in his second tour-level event and now hopes to raise his profile on the other side of the globe. Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, coached by Viktor Troicki, seeks to follow his countryman Novak Djokovic’s example for success on the big stages, while Abdullah Shelbayh — from the neighbouring nation of Jordan — bids to build on a last-16 run in Metz as a qualifier.

5) Record Prize Money: The eight men in Jeddah will be competing for their share of a record $2 million in prize money. An undefeated champion would earn $514,000. A semi-final victory will be worth $113,500 and the championship match will yield the winner $153,000.

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The world’s leading 21-and-under players Saturday night learned their group fate for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM when the official draw was conducted in Jeddah.

Joining French top seed Arthur Fils, 19, in Green Group will be Dominic Stricker, Flavio Cobolli and Luca Nardi.

Fellow Frenchman Luca Van Assche, 19, heads Red Group, which will also feature Alex Michelsen, Hamad Medjedovic and Abdullah Shelbayh.

The Next Gen ATP Finals, the first ATP-sanctioned event ever to be held in Saudi Arabia, will be held 28 November-2 December at King Abdullah Sports City.

Green Group: Arthur Fils (1), Dominic Stricker (3), Flavio Cobolli (5), Luca Nardi (7).

Red Group: Luca Van Assche (2), Alex Michelsen (4), Hamad Medjedovic (6), Abdullah Shelbayh (8).

Dominic Stricker may have prior experience both of visiting Saudi Arabia and competing at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM, but the Swiss star was still impressed by his first visit to the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

Stricker stepped on court for his first practice session Saturday lunchtime in the Saudi coastal city, where the lefty hit with one of his fellow competitors at the 21-and-under event, Arthur Fils. The 21-year-old reached the semi-finals on his Next Gen ATP Finals debut in Milan in 2022 and is delighted to be back for a second campaign.

“It’s a great arena. It felt really good from the beginning onwards,” said Stricker after his practice. “I was at this event last year, so it’s great to come back. It’s a super event, everything is organised well. I arrived pretty late yesterday but had a great practice with Arthur.”

The lefty World No. 92 said he had settled quickly in Jeddah, where he will hope to cap a strong year during which he made his maiden fourth-round appearance at a major at the US Open and lifted two ATP Challenger Tour trophies.

“I’ve been here once before,” said Stricker of Saudi Arabia. “I was excited to come here again. I really liked it the time I was here before, so I hope I can enjoy my stay here. It’s my first time in this stadium, but it looks great and feels great. The court feels good, everything looks really good so far.”

Earlier on Saturday, Flavio Cobolli also made his bow on Jeddah’s stadium court in a practice with his fellow event debutant Alex Michelsen. The World No. 95 Cobolli won a Challenger title in Lisbon in August, made two other finals at that level, and also reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final in Munich in April.

Flavio Cobolli” />

_{^{Flavio Cobolli during practice on Saturday at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}