Only four players remain in contention for the 2022 ATP Next Gen Finals title. Three of them were expected at this stage with Dominic Stricker completely destroying his group, despite seemingly being one of the outsiders. To make the final, the 2020 Roland Garros boys’ singles champion will need to take down Jiri Lehecka. Meanwhile, Brandon Nakashima takes on Jack Draper in a blockbuster clash. Who do you think will advance?
Jiri Lehecka vs Dominic Stricker
Head-to-head: Stricker 1-0
Dominic Stricker has been on fire in Milan so far, winning three matches to top group B. The Swiss is an extremely talented shotmaker, but rarely executes his game with this much consistency. His style suits the fast indoor hard courts at the Allianz Cloud very well though.
Jiri Lehecka didn’t come close to touching Brandon Nakashima in his group, but was just as clean in dispatching Francesco Passaro and Matteo Arnaldi. Stricker won their only head-to-head meeting in Halle this year. The Swiss has a more imposing playstyle and if he can keep performing as well as he’s been thus far, he should claw his way into the final at Milan.
Predictions: Stricker in 4
Brandon Nakashima vs Jack Draper
Head-to-head: First meeting
Brandon Nakashima topped his group despite a shaky start against Matteo Arnaldi. The American survived his opponent in five sets and then didn’t drop another while battling Francesco Passaro and Jiri Lehecka. Jack Draper was in trouble from the get-go after losing in three sets to Dominic Stricker. The Brit stepped up to the challenge though and played himself into form, especially in the straightforward win over Lorenzo Musetti, which was essentially a shoot-out for who gets to advance.
The thing about Nakashima is that while he’s incredibly solid and brings his best to the court very consistently, he’s just not capable of reaching that incredible level that Draper can hit when he’s playing well. That’s why the American was likely to get to the semifinals, but wasn’t (and isn’t) the prime contender for the title.
Predictions: Draper in 4
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