Brandon Nakashima wins NextGen Finals
Brandon Nakashima triumphed over Jiri Lehecka in the final of the #NextGen Finals in Milan 4:3 (5), 4:3 (6), 4:2. The undefeated winner will receive $432,750 in prize money.
by Victoria Moser
last edit:
Nov 12, 2022, 10:39 pm
The American Brandon Nakashima, who is registered at world number 49, won the final of the #NextGen Finals in Milan at the age of 21. His second title after winning the first ever this year against compatriot Marcos Giron at the ATP Tour 250 event in San Diego. On his way to the title he also defeated Arnaldi, Lehecka (4:1, 4:3, 4:2), Passaro and Draper. Now his name is on the list of winners alongside Tsitsipas, Sinner and Alcaraz. Not a bad omen, right? His opponent - the Czech Jiri Lehecka - had previously been able to assert himself against Passaro, Arnaldi and Stricker.
The special thing about the NextGen Finals
The #NextGen Finals this year introduced a time limit of fifteen seconds between serves, if the point was won with just one shot, and changing sides after three games, in addition to the existing regulations (sets to four, abolition of net serves, no world ranking points). . This made the games even faster (apart from the over two and a half hour game between Passaro and Arnaldi). Trying out new things and breaking traditions is a challenge in tennis. For example, the Hawk-Eye or the Shot-Clock were adopted from the ATP Tour.
However, while the innovations introduced in Milan 2022 do justice to the fast pace of Generation Z, they also shorten the games and thus lose the fight and enjoyment.