ATP NextGen Finals: Rune celebrates first victory, Alcaraz also convinces against Nakashima
Holger Rune celebrated his first success at the #NextGen Finals. The Dane defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo in four sets. Tournament favorite Carlos Alcaraz is already in the semi-finals.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Nov 10, 2021, 05:19 pm
Holger Rune has the chance to participate in the semi-finals at the #NextGen Finals in Milan. The 18-year-old wobbled only briefly against the Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo, winning 4: 1, 4: 2, 1: 4 and 4: 1. Tomorrow, Thursday, there will be a final in Group A - for the second semifinal place next to Carlos Alcaraz, who has already secured a ticket for the semifinals with his success against Brandon Nakashima.
Rune against Nakashima, this duel has never happened on the ATP tour. If you strictly follow the ATP world rankings, the 20-year-old American goes into the game as number 63 as the favorite. However, in the 2021 annual ranking, Rune is almost on a par with Nakashima. Only the special rules of the ATP after the Corona crisis keep the Danish teenager away from the top 100.
Alcaraz has to go into the tiebreak twice
Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, has established himself among the world's top men in recent months. And followed almost the same pattern against Nakashima as at the start against Rune: In the first round there was a narrow success in the tie-break, after that Alcaraz stepped up a gear - and took a 4: 3 (3) and 4: 1 lead. With the break to 2-1 for Alcaraz, the decision seemed to have already been made in the third act. But Nakashima hit back immediately. Again a tie-break had to decide. And again Alcaraz was ahead, this time 7: 4.
In the night session, there will be a duel between two winners from Tuesday in Group B: Sebastian Korda, who was able to fend off match points against Hugo Gaston, plays against Sebastian Baez, who prevailed against Lorenzo Musetti. The local hero then plays the last match of the day against Gaston.