Tiafoe and Shapovalov Among Latest to Qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, Aussie Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. joined Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and German Alexander Zverev as players to have qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held Nov. 6-10 in Milan.
Tiafoe reached two ATP World Tour finals and jumped more than 60 spots in the ATP Rankings this year, from 108th in January to 45th this week. In February, the 20-year-old Tiafoe won his maiden ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach, Fla., beating Juan Martin del Potro, 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals titlist Hyeon Chung, Shapovalov and German Peter Gojowczyk. Tiafoe became the first wild card recipient to win the title in the tournament’s 26-year history, and he became the youngest American champion on tour since Andy Roddick, 19, at 2002 Houston.
The 19-year-old Shapovalov qualified for the second consecutive year. He fell just short of reaching the semifinals at the Fiera Milano last year after a breakout season that saw him become the youngest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-finalist in history (since 1990). He made another Masters 1000 semifinal in Madrid, becoming the youngest semifinalist in tournament history. Shapovalov also reached the semifinals at the Delray Beach Open and the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018 in Tokyo.
De Minaur’s 2018 rise, however, might be the most drastic of anyone on the ATP World Tour. In December, the Aussie was ranked 210th in the ATP Rankings. This week, the 19-year-old reached a career-high of 31st in the world and could be even higher when he heads to Milan, as he’s defending only 30 points the remainder of the regular season. He started the year by making the semifinals at the Brisbane International and the final at the Sydney International. He was the youngest player to reach semifinals in consecutive weeks since Rafael Nadal at the 2005 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
