Led by Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe, the ATP's young guns are gunning it out at the Next Gen ATP Finals this week in Milan. Now in its third year, the event's first two winners have gone on to reach the Australian Open semifinals the year after they captured the Net Gen title (Hyeon Chung, 2017; Stefanos Tsitsipas, 2018).
More than a showcase for the next generation, the 21-and-under year-end event is also a testing ground for a host of innovations, ranging from scoring changes to coaching and new technology.
Pictured above (l to r): Alex de Minaur, Miomir Kecmanovic, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Ugo Humbert, Frances Tiafoe, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Mikael Ymer.
The many experimental changes at the event include shorter, first-to-four sets (best of five) and no-ad scoring. There is also the opportunity for players to communicate with their coaches in between sets via headset, and live stats are available to players during changeovers on their courtside benches.
The event continues to use electronic line calling in place of line umpires on court and also allows for video review of incidents, like foot faults or not-ups. And for the first time, players this year are permitted to use wearable technology to measure their exertion during matches.
A full overview of the innovations can be found on the Next Gen website, with the complete list of new rules.
De Minaur, the highest-ranked player in the event at No. 18, speaks with coach Adolfo Gutierrez via headset in between sets.
Tiafoe, a 2019 Australian Open quarterfinalist, checks match stats during a changeover. Both Tiafoe and de Minaur will represent their countries in the Davis Cup Finals later this month.
No. 95-ranked Jannik Sinner, the lone Italian in the Milan field, is the only 18-year-old in the ATP's Top 100 and the youngest in the Top 300. He qualified for the 2019 US Open men's singles main draw before falling to Stan Wawrinka in four entertaining sets.
France's Ugo Humbert, the 21-year-old world No. 55, picked up a win over Collin Altamirano in his US Open main-draw debut in 2018.
Mikael Ymer of Sweden fell one win short of the 2019 US Open main draw, when he lost to 2017 Next Gen ATP champion Hyeon Chung in the final round of qualifying.
Norwegian Casper Ruud, 20, has competed in the US Open main draw the last two years. He is the son of former ATP Top-40 player Christian Ruud.
Miomir Kecmanovic took out fellow Serb Laslo Djere in straight sets at the 2019 US Open for his first main-draw win in New York. The 20-year-old also notched opening-round wins at the French Open and Wimbledon this season.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, 20, broke into the ATP's Top 100 for the first time in mid-October, reached a career-high ranking of No. 82 the week of Oct. 28 and currently sits at No. 87 in the world.
De Minaur has competed in three US Open main draws, improving his result each time. After losing a five-set, third-round thriller to 2014 champ Marin Cilic in 2018, he defeated Kei Nishikori, the 2014 finalist, to reach Round 4 this summer.
Tiafoe reached Round 2 at the US Open in each of the last two years, falling just short in five second-round sets against Alex Zverev in 2019.
The Next Gen ATP Finals run from Nov. 5-9. Follow the event on the official tournament website.
