Next Gen ATP Finals, 2019, Milan, Italy

[tented]

DATE: November 5-9, 2019
SURFACE: Hard
PRIZE MONEY: $1,400,000
FIELD SIZE: 8
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Stefanos Tsitsipas

Group A:
Alex de Minaur
Casper Ruud
Miomir Kecmanovic
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Group B:
Frances Tiafoe
Ugo Humbert
Mikael Ymer
Jannik Sinner

The Tournament:

Milan will again host the innovative and award-winning Next Gen ATP Finals, which will feature the world’s top 21-and-under singles players of the ATP Tour season. The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals will take place over five days at the Allianz Cloud stadium, after a two-year stint at the Fiera Milano, and will remain in Milan through 2021.

About Milan:

Milan is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city in Italy after Rome, with the city proper having a population of 1,395,274 while its metropolitan city has a population of 3,259,835. Its continuously built-up urban area (that stretches beyond the boundaries of the Metropolitan City of Milan) has a population estimated to be about 5,270,000 over 1,891 square kilometres (730 square miles). The wider Milan metropolitan area, known as Greater Milan, is a polycentric metropolitan region that extends over central Lombardy and eastern Piedmont and which counts an estimated total population of 7.5 million, making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and the 54th largest in the world. Milan served as capital of the Western Roman Empire from 286 to 402 and the Duchy of Milan during the medieval period and early modern age.

Tourism Guide:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I expect D-Minor and Kecmanovic to advance from Group A.

I expect Sinner and Ymer to advance from Group B.

Tiafoe seems to be not having much momentum at the moment.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

*This would have been a great opportunity to test "play on on net serves" since they are experimenting with bunch of stuff.

*I hate courts without the doubles lines. Played on once and all my reference points were gone. I guess some like it.

* I like Sinner. Good player. Do not see much Italian from the name or the looks so I will read up on him a bit.

*Instantaneous line calls with hawk eye should make the linesmen obsolete pretty soon, no?

 

[GameSetAndMath]

*Instantaneous line calls with hawk eye should make the linesmen obsolete pretty soon, no?

May be it should go along with Robot Tennis Players. Oops, I forgot we already have Ralph and Nole.

 

[herios]

I expect D-Minor and Kecmanovic to advance from Group A.

I expect Sinner and Ymer to advance from Group B.

Tiafoe seems to be not having much momentum at the moment.

So far, you nailed I as far as predictions. All 4 of those you predicted to move on won their opening matches.

 

[herios]

*This would have been a great opportunity to test "play on on net serves" since they are experimenting with bunch of stuff.

*I hate courts without the doubles lines. Played on once and all my reference points were gone. I guess some like it.

* I like Sinner. Good player. Do not see much Italian from the name or the looks so I will read up on him a bit.

Sinner looks just like Seppi. Germanic type, he has to be from the Northern Italy.
I am very curious about Sinner. He could be as promising like Felix. Sinner actually broke into the top 100 at a younger age (by 4 months) than Felix.

 

[Moxie]

Sinner looks just like Seppi. Germanic type, he has to be from the Northern Italy.
I am very curious about Sinner. He could be as promising like Felix. Sinner actually broke into the top 100 at a younger age (by 4 months) than Felix.

Good call. Sinner is from the South Tyrol, as is Seppi, so on the border with Austria, in the Alps. Became part of Italy only 100 years ago. Also, I read that he became the first men's player born in 2001 to reach a Challenger final when he won Bergamo this past February, at 17.

 

[Moxie]

*This would have been a great opportunity to test "play on on net serves" since they are experimenting with bunch of stuff.

*I hate courts without the doubles lines. Played on once and all my reference points were gone. I guess some like it.

* I like Sinner. Good player. Do not see much Italian from the name or the looks so I will read up on him a bit.

*Instantaneous line calls with hawk eye should make the linesmen obsolete pretty soon, no?

Interesting points there. (I addressed the one about Sinner above.) I very much agree that they should have tried playing on in the let serves, if they were trying things that really might get implemented.

Overall, I don't especially like the format. If they shortened the sets, then why play best of 5? I don't like no-ad, as in decisive point. I think that you lose a lot of drama for what you gain in rapidity. Also, it doesn't so much test the players, mentally. While I understand that they're using this as a testing ground, I still felt that it made it look like they were playing kiddie tennis. Especially with the use of head-sets for "virtual" on-court coaching.

The shorter warm-up and the towel racks are probably a good idea.

 

[Moxie]

May be it should go along with Robot Tennis Players. Oops, I forgot we already have Ralph and Nole.

Seriously, you can't mean that, right?

 

[AnonymousFan]

 

[herios]

Alex de Minaur won in his second match as well.
He is the main favorite of this tourney without a doubt.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Not impressed.. I am sticking with the grown ups

 

[AnonymousFan]

 

[herios]

Sinner took Ymer to the Woodshed

 

[El Dude]

Sinner is a really bad man.

 

[Moxie]

Sinner is a really bad man.

And they said he already qualified for the SFs. Not sure I understand. But he does have the best record of everyone, even a little better than de Miñaur, based on sets and games. And he's the Italian WC.

 

[AnonymousFan]

And they said he already qualified for the SFs. Not sure I understand. But he does have the best record of everyone, even a little better than de Miñaur, based on sets and games. And he's the Italian WC.

His 2 wins will be enough to advance since Ymer and Tiafoe will play each other tomorrow.

 

[Moxie]

I'm def rooting for Tiafoe tomorrow.

 

[AnonymousFan]

 

[herios]

Alex D minor on cruise control, beats Ruud as well in straight sets.