Draw announced for Next Gen ATP finals in Saudi Arabia

25.11.2023 - 23:09 arabnews.com

JEDDAH: The draw for the Next Gen ATP finals, starting in Saudi Arabia next week, was held on Saturday night. The season-ending tournament, presented by NEOM, will be staged at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah from Nov.

28 with the final taking place on Saturday, Dec. 2. The draw was divided into two groups. The Red group will have Luca Van Assche, Alex Michelensen, Hamad Madjedovic and Abdullah Shelbaya.

While the Green group consists of Arthur Fils, Dominic Stricker, Flavio Cobolli and Luca Nardi. The tournament is organized by the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Tennis Federation, who signed a partnership with ATP for a period of five years until 2027.

The top eight players aged 21 or under in the 2023 ATP Tour qualified for the event, although there have been withdrawals as world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz and world No 8 Holger Rune (both 20) will not feature as they competed at the ATP Finals.

tennis Formula One Crystal Palace Max Verstappen Carlos Alcaraz Charles Leclerc Granit Xhaka Bayer Leverkusen Xabi Alonso Alexander Albon Holger Rune Williams Britain Uae Saudi Arabia

RIYADH: Hamad Medjedovic squandered two match points before he finally upset the top-seeded Arthur Fils and won the Next Gen Finals championship match on Saturday. It was the first five-set final in six editions of the tournament. Medjedovic missed the chance to seal it in four but converted his third match point in the fifth to beat Fils 3-4 (6), 4-1, 4-2, 3-4 (9), 4-1 after two hours, 11 minutes. The 20-year-old Medjedovic did not lose a match on his way to becoming the first Serbian to win the tournament for the top eight players aged 21 or under. The tournament was held in Saudi Arabia for the first time after it was played in Milan ever since the inaugural edition in 2017. Besides shorter sets, other changes to the usual tennis rules included shorter changeovers and less time on the shot clock for some points. “I can’t believe I have won this title, but it’s going to give me a lot of confidence for 2024,” said Medjedovic, the lowest-ranked champion yet at No. 110. The 36th-ranked Fils became the youngest Frenchman in nearly two decades to win an ATP title when he triumphed at Lyon this year. Medjedovic, who is coached by Serbia Davis Cup captain Viktor Troicki, reached tour-level semifinals in Gstaad and Astana and won three lower-level Challengers this year.

Next Gen ATP Finals stars sightsee in Jeddah ahead of tournament

LONDON: The stars of the Next Gen ATP Finals visited Al-Balad, the historic old town of Jeddah, for this year’s official group photo on Sunday.

Jordanian tennis star Abdullah Shelbayh ‘honored’ to compete in Jeddah Next Gen ATP Finals

JEDDAH: Jordan’s 20-year-old international tennis player Abdullah Shelbayh has urged Arab spectators to come and cheer him on as he competes in Jeddah’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM next week. Having just turned 20 on Nov. 16, Shelbayh will be one of eight players to compete in the under-21 event at the Next Gen ATP Finals from Nov.

Playing under Alonso ‘a dream’ for Leverkusen’s Xhaka

BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka said on Saturday “it is a dream” to play under Xabi Alonso after a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen helped his team back to the top of the Bundesliga. The victory — Leverkusen’s 17th in 18 fixtures this season — reestablished their two-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich. Xhaka joined Leverkusen in the close-season from Premier League side Arsenal, where he played under Alonso’s childhood friend Mikel Arteta. “It’s a dream for me to play under Xabi Alonso, he was a world-class player in the same position as me — I played against him myself,” Xhaka told Sky Germany. “He gives me things that I can take... “We have a great team, a great coach and a great mentality. “We work hard daily and you can see the results on the ground.” Xhaka is one of several summer signings to impress this season, along with Alex Grimaldo, who scored in the win over Bremen, Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann. Leverkusen’s blistering start has some talking of a potential maiden Bundesliga title, but Xhaka was careful not to look too far into the future. “Nothing is a foregone conclusion.

Albon, Sargeant confident of strong finish to season for Williams in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

ABU DHABI: Alex Albon is well aware that Yas Marina Circuit has not been a happy hunting ground for Williams, but the Thai-British driver is hoping his team can finish the season on a high and secure seventh place in the constructors’ championship this weekend.