🏆 Ongoing Tournaments

Hey, Tennis Pro! It's the beginning of the week!

Next Gen Brandon. Saturday marked the first American victory at the ATP Next Gen Finals. The youngster in charge of the feat was a Japanese-Vitenamese American born in California.

Brandon Nakashima closed out 2022 in Milan by clinching his second win this week against the Czech Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.

The American sealed his undefeated championship by bouncing back from being 3-1 down in the opener and securing a tiebreaker in the second set.

If anything, Nakashima has shown us his great ability to overcome pressure situations. His 16-1 record in tiebreaks since Wimbledon is the icing on the cake for the new young number one.

As an additional fact… the champion of the Next Gen '21 is the current number one.

Will history repeat itself in 2023?

🏁 Nole for the win in Turin

The fashion show we saw on Friday with the best players of the year arriving at the Turin Finals was pure class. However, as much as Felix and Ruud have shown great poise on the blue carpet, the favorite to return home through the front door is the virtual number one Novak Djokovic.

The ATP Finals is like playing at home for Nole, having qualified 15 times since 2007 and winning the title in 5 occasions (most recently in 2015).

Sadly for Big Three fans, we see Nadal who has not had the best year finish since the unexpected exit in the Wimbledon semifinals due to injury, and his chances of taking his first ATP Finals in Italian territory look kinda distant.

Even more so now with his misstep against Taylor Fritz.

I, however, see an important turning point in the tournament by the hand of the Tsitsipas and Djokovic matchup. Despite the fact that the Greek has three losses in the three matches against the Serbian this year, their last meetup in the Paris Masters semifinals really got Nole in a tough spot against Stefanos.

Just leaving a thought... maybe Fritz will be the real surprise. Ultimately, the fast conditions of the court are ideal for him. We'll see...

👋 Another early exit for Rafa

Rafa has had a difficult end to the tennis year. In the personal corner, he looks more happy than ever with the birth of his first child. But on the courts, the tour's favorite Spaniard has been a victim of injuries and has barely made it to the early rounds in the second half of the year.

On Sunday we saw Nadal resoundingly defeated by the American All Star, Taylor Fritz, who raises his hand after his last-minute invitation to the Turin Finals, after the refusal to participate by Carlos Alcaraz.

Taylor closes the day in Italy by obtaining the first Top 3 victory of his career and the second against Rafa Nadal in the year (Indian Wells Final).

It seems that we will be more eager for Rafa's level in the remainder of the year, as there are players who are already shaping up for a better finish in the Finals in the last stages.

🗒️ Daily Results

[Updated 06:00 a.m. GMT]

⏱️ Today’s Order of Play

[Updated 06:00 a.m. GMT]

👋 So long, and thanks for all the tennis!

→ Brandon Nakashima hitting big in Saturday's Final.

→ Casper and Felix playing it Cat n' Mouse style.

→ Djokovic being the defense king in the 2013 Finals.

→ Apparently, Holger Rune is also a juggler.

→ OG Federer winning his first ATP Finals back in '03.