Next Gen ATP Finals: Michelsen, Fonseca Advance To Semifinals

Alex Michelsen
Alex Michelsen (photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour.com)

JEDDAH/WASHINGTON, December 20, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

After Day Two of the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, the semifinal scenarios are coming into focus. That’s because two of the last four berths have been secured, by No. 2 seed Alex Michelsen of the United States in the Red Group and, surprisingly, by No. 8 seed Joao Fonseca of Brazil in the Blue Group. Each won impressively Thursday to advance into Saturday’s semifinal round.

On Friday, the final two spots will be determined in a pair of win-and-you’re in matches: No. 7 seed Nishesh Basavareddy of the United States faces No. 6 seed Luca Van Assche of France in the Red Group, and No. 1 seed Arthur Fils of France takes on No. 5 seed Learner Tien of the United States in the Blue Group.

Michelsen goes from winless to winner’s circle – twice

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months after going winless in his Next Gen ATP Finals debut, No. 2-seeded American Alex Michelsen has found his way to the winner’s circle – twice. He’s done it with a competitive spirit, learning from last year’s 0-3 experience. The bottom line: Michelsen hates to lose. Now, he’s on the brink of breaking into the ATP Top 40 after completing his first full season on the ATP Tour.

On Thursday, the 41st-ranked Michelsen gave a complete performance and became the first player to advance to the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals semifinal round after defeating No. 6 seed Luca Van Assche of France, 1-4, 4-2, 4-3 (6), 4-3 (5), in an hour and 43 minutes. Michelsen, who finished 2024 as the youngest American ranked in the Top 50 since Andy Roddick in 2002, improved to 2-0 in group play, while Van Assche, a semifinalist in 2023, dropped to 1-1.

Wednesday’s Red Group winners Michelsen and Van Assche squared off in Jeddah, again, a year after Van Assche defeated the American en route to reaching the last four. This time, Michelsen returned the favor. After dropping the opening set, he rebounded nicely to win three consecutive sets – including the final two in tie-breaks. The turning point came during the third-set tiebreaker, in which Michelsen erased three set points and charged back from 3-6 down to pull out the tie-break 8-6.

Overall, although Michelsen served six aces and recorded just eight winners, he was relentless in pressuring Van Assche. He broke the 128th-ranked Frenchman twice in three tries and took advantage of 27 unforced errors. Michelsen outpointed his opponent 78-74, and put away the satisfying victory with a seventh-shot forehand winner.

“If you had told me 12 months ago that I would be back here in the semis, I would be a very happy man,” Michelsen, a native of Laguna Hills, Calif., said in his on-court interview. “I’ve got nothing to complain about. I played really well today. I’m happy to get through.”

As for his competitive spirit, the 20-year-old Michelsen said it’s something he feels he was born with.

“I’ve always been that way,” he admitted. “I’ve always hated losing. I’ve always got to put my best foot forward and try to win as hard as I can. If I don’t, I won’t be able to sleep at night. I try as hard as I can in everything I do and I try to bring that to the court.”

On Friday, Michelsen (2-0) will wrap up group play against China’s Shang Juncheng (0-2), who has already been eliminated from advancing.

Fonseca comes out firing against Tien

Eighteen-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca, the youngest competitor in Jeddah, made a believer out of everyone Thursday evening – especially No. 5 seed Learner Tien of the United States. He showed why his win over top seed and World No. 20 Arthur Fils of France a day earlier – the biggest of his young career – was no fluke after defeating the 19-year-old American, 4-0, 4-0, 1-4, 4-2, in a very fast 67 minutes. It was a rematch of the 2023 US Open boys’ singles final that was also won by Fonseca.

The No. 8 seed Fonseca improved to 2-0 in the Blue Group and secured his berth in the semifinals by winning eight straight games from the outset against Tien, who had trouble finding his rhythm and consistency in the early going. Fonseca became the second South American semifinalist in event history, joining Sebastian Baez of Argentina in 2021.

“I think one of the things I most improved this year was maturity,” Fonseca said during his on-court interview. “In these big stadiums, playing big matches, I’ve obviously been nervous. But I think I adapted very good today. The way that I played from the beginning was really good.”

Fonseca won 77 percent of his first-serve points, hit 18 winners to just 10 unforced errors, converted five of 15 break points and outpointed Tien 58-44.

“The third set, [Learner] played better. He started playing more solid,” Fonseca said. “But I [improved my] consistency and focus and I got the win.

“I’ve just been playing my tennis and I really enjoy playing here. I want to thank the Brazilian crowd. Every place I play there are Brazilians. It’s really nice; it means a lot and I really like to play for my country.”

Ranked 145th, Fonseca began the year at No. 730. Soon, he captured his first ATP Tour-level victory at his home tournament in Rio de Janeiro and became the second-youngest ATP 500 quarterfinalist since the series began in 2009.

Then, after turning pro in the spring, Fonseca became the youngest Brazilian to claim an ATP Challenger Tour title, when he won the Challenger event in Lexington, Kentucky last August.

Fonseca (2-0), the second-youngest semifinalist in event history – only one month younger than 2019 champion Jannik Sinner – will play Jakub Mensik (0-2) to complete group play on Friday.

Basavareddy earns a milestone win

Less than two weeks after turning pro, seventh-seeded American Nishesh Basavareddy garnered the first ATP Tour win of his nascent career and first over a Top-50 player with his 3-4 (4), 4-2, 4-2, 4-1 victory over No. 4 seed Shang Juncheng of China.

The 19-year-old former Stanford University standout, who is one of three Americans competing this week in Jeddah, recovered from losing a first-set tie-break. From the second set on in the one-hour and 33-minute group match, the 138th-ranked Basavareddy came ready to play. He dominated No. 50 Shang, who appeared hindered by illness, over the remainder of the four-set match.

Basavareddy finished with 14 aces, hit 23 winners overall and converted five of 11 break points. He outpointed Shang 77-65.

“I’m just super excited, playing in this stadium is a dream come true,” Basavareddy, a native of Newport Beach, Calif., said during his on-court interview. “In such a big event like this, in front of all these fans, I’m just enjoying every moment of it.

“I never expected to be here this year, it’s been a lot of good results and a lot of hard work that’s led to this, so I am super happy. I just wanted to be a little bit more positive today, and more clutch, and I think I did that.”

After earning ITA All-American honors during both of his seasons at Stanford, Basavareddy has already reached a career-high ranking. His 2024 season spent on the ATP Challenger Tour circuit was a successful one, resulting in two titles (at Tiburon and at Puerto Vallarta) and a 41-13 win-loss record.

“I loved the team aspect of that and those are some of my best friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life,” Basavareddy said. “But I was ready to move and start playing professional tennis, which has always been my dream. It was tough to let it go, but I’m excited for the future.”

Thursday’s victory kept Basavareddy’s chances of advancing to Saturday’s semifinals alive. After losing to fellow American Alex Michelsen on Wednesday, Basavareddy (1-1) will face France’s Luca Van Assche (1-1) on Friday in a winner-take-all match for a berth in the semifinals.

Fils rebounds, fires past Mensik

Last year’s finalist, 20th-ranked Arthur Fils of France, recovered from his Opening Night loss to No. 8 seed Joao Fonseca of Brazil and took out No. 3 seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, 4-2, 4-3 (4), 4-2, in a match-up of first-day Blue Group losers.

In his Jeddah debut, the 48th-ranked Mensik came in looking for his first win at the event and fifth Top 20 win on hard courts this season. The 19-year-old, 2024 ATP Newcomer of the Year will have to wait a little longer. Meanwhile, the No. 1 seed Fils, who was the 2023 ATP Newcomer of the Year, won impressively. He won four out of five deciding deuce points over Mensik during their 77-minute tussle. It was his 10th win over a Top 50 opponent since September.

“Yesterday was a bit tough,” Fils, 20, said during his on-court interview. “To come back here [today] and play was tough, but I’m really happy with the way I dealt with the match today. It was against a really good opponent. He had an unbelievable year and I wish him all the best for the next year, because he’s a nice guy. I’m very happy about the performance today, and thank you very much to the crowd which was amazing.”

Coming into this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals field, Fils led for most wins (37) and titles (at Hamburg and at Tokyo). Against Mensik, Fils hit 22 winners – including six aces – and broke his opponent three times in seven attempts. He saved four of five break points he faced and outpointed Mensik 63-49.

On Friday, Fils (1-1) will face No. 5 seed Learner Tien (1-1) in his final group match with the winner advancing, while Mensik will attempt to secure his first win of the tournament against Fonseca.

Thursday’s Next Gen ATP Finals results

Friday’s Next Gen ATP Finals order of play

By the numbers

Nishesh Basavareddy went 41-13 on the ATP Challenger Tour this season. His 41 victories were third-most on the Challenger level, highlighted by six finals and two titles won, at Tiburon and Puerto Vallarta.

“Quotable …”

“Of course, everyone has doubts. When you are a kid, when you start playing, you are just playing for fun at the beginning. I still play for fun, but now of course it is my job. When I started to decide to be a professional tennis player, it’s difficult, because if you do well and become a professional, it’s very good, but the chances are very slim. You have to take your opportunities.

“Also, now that I’m on Tour, sometimes you lose a lot of matches and sometimes you think, ‘Why am I doing this?’, because my family is in France and I’m almost never there to see them. Sometimes it can be difficult but I’m enjoying my life on Tour for the moment, it’s cool.”

– Luca Van Assche of France, ranked 128th, during a special interview session Wednesday with a group of young tennis enthusiasts, as quoted by the ATP Tour website.

 

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