By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday November 30, 2023
France's Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche gained safe passage into the semifinal at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.
Photo Source: TTV
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday November 29 2023
All eight players were in contention for semifinal spots when Day 3 action began at the Next Gen ATP Finals, but only four remain.
Arthur Fils of France and Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia finished group play undefeated, while Dominic Stricker and Luca Van Assche also qualified for the final four.
Fils, ranked 36 at the end of a season that saw him become the youngest ATP title winner in 2023 as he rose 213 ranking spots, won 9 of 12 sets across his three matches.
Fils took out Stricker in four sets.
“I just want to win every match that I’m playing,” said Fils in his on-court interview. “I think I put a little bit more focus out there today than the first two days because I know this opponent and he already beat me this year. It was a tough match, but I’m really happy to win and let’s see who I get in the semi-final.”
The 19-year-old Frenchman will face his compatriot Van Assche, who edged American Alex Michelsen to book his spot in the semis. Van Assche, ranked 70, holds the second-highest ranking in the competition.
Medjedovic, ranked 110, will face 94th-ranked Stricker in the other semifinal.
He defeated Abdullah Shelbayh in the final group match of Day 3.
Medjedovic, who reached semifinals at Gstaad and Astana this year, was 7-7 on the season; Stricker upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the US Open round of 16. The hard-hitting southpaw also reached the quarterfinal at ATP 500 Basel.
Stricker went 1-2 in group play but qualified on the strength of percentage of sets won.