2023-12-01 21:42:39
The duel between the two great hopes of the new generation of French tennis between Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche turned in favor of the first. Son, seeded number 1 and 36th in the world, won in four sets and 1h36 of play against seeded number 2 and 70th in the world, 2-4, 4-1, 4-3 (7/1), 4-3 (8/6) in the semi-final of the Next Generation ATP Finals (the Under-22 Masters) this Friday in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
This competition serves as a laboratory for the establishment of new rules: sets in 4 winning games, elimination of the advantage at 40-A, reduction of time to serve.
It was the second time that Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche, both 19 years old, faced each other. The first time, it was in the final of the Roland-Garros junior tournament, in 2021. Van Assche then won in two sets (6-4, 6-2).
Stronger in tie-breaks
If Van Assche, who spent 2h36 on the court Thursday evening to qualify against Alex Michelsen, won the first round, Fils, author of a flawless performance in group matches (3 victories in 3 matches), is shown to be the strongest, particularly during the two tie-breaks of the 3rd and 4th round.
In six editions, this is the first time that a French player has qualified for the final of a Next Gen Masters. Son, now trained by Sébastien Grosjean and Sergi Bruguera, will face in the final the Serbian Hamad Medjedovic (110th in the world), also undefeated this week and who beat Swiss Dominic Stricker (94th) who gave up while he was trailing (4-3 , 2-1) during the second semi-final.
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