The final round of group matches have finally arrived at the ATP NextGen Finals, with plenty to play for in both groups. But who will be able to book their spot into the semifinals of the ATP NextGen Finals?
ATP NextGen Finals Predictions Day 3
Miomir Kecmanovic vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: First meeting
The last match set to take place in Group A is the battle between Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic and Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Davidovich Fokina came up short by losing his first two group matches, but he still has a slim chance of making the semifinals if he beats Kecmanovic in three or four sets and other results go his way.
The Spaniard has produced some unbelievable flashy shotmaking this week already, some wonderfully-timed drop shot and lob combinations, and a willingness to play close to the lines all the time, but his achilles heel is really reining it in and keeping those unnecessary unforced errors down to a minimum. It is something he’ll either grow to introduce into his game as he matures as a player or something he’ll ride with if he feels its the right way forward. Kecmanovic should be able to extract plenty of unforced errors out of his game and has a serve to keep him in contention for long periods. The most interesting part of this battle is the backhand to backhand exchanges. Kecmanovic has one of the cleanest backhands among the young players on tour, but the injection of pace that Davidovich Fokina applies on that side is frightening at times.
Prediction: Kecmanovic in 3
Jannik Sinner vs Mikael Ymer
Head-to-head: First meeting
Jannik Sinner has been on fire this week in Milan, dropping only one set out of the six played. He really destroyed Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in their second group match. The Italian has already qualified but will want to keep up the momentum by taking care of Ugo Humbert in the last of the group matches.
I think what has stood out about the Italian’s game this week and for much of the season is frontward pressure in the rally. Everything about his game points to stepping in, overwhelming with early aggressive balls starting with the return and being expansive with his approach. Then factor in how well he can serve you off the court he is already showing hardly any major limitations to both his technical and mental game. France’s Humbert will probably have his work cut out as he has been struggling a lot in this tournament and is playing for pride as he is already eliminated from the tournament. He will need his lefty serve to be in full working order to stand any chance against Sinner, who is feeling good playing in front of home support.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
Frances Tiafoe vs Mikael Ymer
Head-to-head: First meeting
With Sinner already qualified, Mikael Ymer and Frances Tiafoe are essentially playing for a semifinals spot. It will be intriguing to see how Ymer bounces back after winning just three games against Sinner in his previous match. The problem for the Swede is really his inability to trust his groundstrokes in an aggressive manner, and on a quicker court in Milan his preference to retrieve and play defensive points works against him, which often leads to him being overwhelmed by more powerful players. He also didn’t particularly find any consistency on the forehand side to, which didn’t help his cause.
I like Tiafoe in this matchup. The American has the flashy weapons to get by in this matchup, but he will also have a lot of time to pick out his targets. The American is at his most vulnerable against bigger servers that test out his return of serve and against aggressive players that isolate the technical problems he has on the forehand. Ymer doesn’t have the weapons to cause those problems over a sustained period.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 4
Alex De Minaur vs Casper Ruud
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alex De Minaur will be looking to pretty much continue where he left off in his previous group match as he looks to secure a position in the final four. He’s sitting in a comfortable position in the group at the moment with two group wins to his name, and now will face Norway’s Casper Ruud in his final group game.
Ruud made his way through a difficult match against the unpredictable Davidovich Fokina in a five set thriller, and he’ll need all the composure and great temperament on show to get the better of De Minaur. I do feel like the Australian is going to get the win. He’s shown this year in particular that all aspects of his game have improved gradually, whether it be maximising his serve, getting more out of the weaker forehand, looking to be more on the front foot, and trying to hug the baseline a little bit more. That in turn has brought him better results and I think his game is further down the line than someone like Ruud, who still has a lot to learn on this particular surface and is still trying to limit the problems he has with some of his weaknesses.
Prediction: De Minaur in 4
Main Photo from Getty.
