The 2018 NextGen ATP Finals draw ceremony was conducted by more traditional means on the heels of last year’s debacle. It resulted in the following groups for the second annual installment of this year-end tournament:
Group A
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Frances Tiafoe
Hubert Hurkacz
Jaume Munar
Group B
Alex de Minaur
Taylor Fritz
Andrey Rublev
Liam Caruana
Tsitsipas, the No. 1 seed, has climbed to No. 15 in the world this year–having earned 41 of his 45 career ATP-level match wins. Tiafoe is into the top 40, Hurkacz is up to No. 85, and Munar highlighted his breakout 2018 campaign with a five-set upset of David Ferrer at the French Open.
“I think our group is much better than Group B,” Tsitsipas joked.
De Minaur leads Goup B as the event’s second seed. He is wrapping up a year in which he boasts 24 of his 26 career main-tour match wins. At No. 31 in the rankings, the Aussie is in position to snag a seed at next season’s Australian Open. Meanwhile, Fritz (No. 47) and Rublev (No. 68) also find themselves comfortably in the top 100. Caruana, a 20-year-old Italian, got a wild card as one of the host nation’s top up-and-comers. He will be the underdog in Milan as the No. 622 player in the world.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting this,” de Minaur said of his overall performance in 2018. “It’s been a great year; I’ve played some unbelievable tennis.”
Both groups play on each day in Milan. Tuesday’s marquee matchup pits Fritz against Rublev.
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WWW?
Tsitsi to win it all. Fritz over Rublev in 3? (Doesn’t this tournament have a wonky 4 game per set 5 set format?)
Why isn’t Shapo playing in Milan?
Fatigue (and its just another exho).
#IfHerbertWasYounger