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On Wednesday at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, three players will have an opportunity to clinch a place in the semi-finals with one match to spare.

Jiri Lehecka is the only man to hold his fate in his own hands on Day 2, as a win against Brandon Nakashima in three or four sets would see him through. Nakashima and Lorenzo Musetti could also book their tickets to the semis with wins, but both would need help from other results.

Here's what to watch as the action continues at the Allianz Cloud in Milan.

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Dominic Stricker earned a statement win at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals Tuesday when he defeated third seed Jack Draper 4-3(5), 4-3(5), 4-3(5) in his opening Red Group match.

The 20-year-old produced an impressive serving performance inside the Allianz Cloud, swinging his lefty serve out wide to pin Draper deep. Stricker fired 14 aces, showed good touch around the net and held his nerve in the crucial moments to triumph after 88 minutes.

Stricker is making his debut in Milan this week. However, he took little time adjusting to the innovations and rules in place at the 21-and-under event, including the first-to-four, best-of-five set format and one sit-down per set.

Stricker, who squandered four match points on Draper's serve at 2-3 in the third set, now holds a 1-0 record in Red Group. He will play Lorenzo Musetti, also a victor on Day 1, in his second match on Wednesday. Draper will look to get off the mark when he faces Chun-Hsin Tseng.

Earlier this season, the World No. 111 Stricker clinched two ATP Challenger Tour titles and earned four Top 40 wins. Stricker opened his shoulders throughout the clash against Draper, dictating points with his fearsome forehand. 

Brandon Nakashima survived a five-set thriller against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi to earn an opening win on Tuesday in his return to the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. In a battle of 21-year-olds in Milan, the American saved five set points to avoid going two sets down before prevailing 2-4, 4-3(7), 4-3(4), 3-4(4), 4-2.

In a back-and-forth contest in the Green Group, Nakashima let slip a 3-1 lead in the fourth set but regrouped to claim the fifth, closing out the victory in two hours and 10 minutes.

"It kind of took me a little while to get used to the new format, the new conditions out here," Nakashima said post-match. "Right from the beginning it was a lot of critical points, the sets were going by fast, so I just tried to adapt as quick as possible. The tie-breaks, I was kind of lucky to squeeze them out and today I think it was just all about finding a way out here. He's a super tough opponent, he was playing really well, and it was just some critical points in the end that helped me get over the line."

A semi-finalist last year at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, Nakashima joins Lorenzo Musetti in bidding to become the first player to win the Milan title in his second appearance. The American peaked at No. 43 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings last month after winning his first ATP Tour title in his home city of San Diego.

It was Arnaldi — a native of Sanremo — who had the home advantage in Milan.

As the season’s brightest #NextGenATP stars set their sights on a strong week at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, the Challenger Tour has been a vital part of each of the Milan qualifiers successes this year.

Seven of the eight players in Milan have won a Challenger title in 2022. ATPTour.com looks at each of the competitor’s rise through the Challenger level this season.

Jack Draper
No player has a better winning percentage on the Challenger Tour this season than Draper. The 20-year-old boasts a 24-4 Challenger match-winning record in 2022. The Briton holds a season-leading four Challenger titles (tied w/ Pedro Cachin): Forli-2, Forli-4, Forli-5, and Saint-Brieuc. At the Forli-5 Challenger, Draper fended off four match points in the final to defeat Swiss Alexander Ritschard.

“I think the Challenger Tour is massive for players,” Draper told ATPTour.com. “When you come through and start winning tournaments back-to-back at that level it gives you huge confidence you can come on Tour and compete with these guys. Everyone on the Challenger level is hungry to do well because that is what gets you onto the Tour. The Challenger Tour has given me a real base and confidence of coming onto the Tour.”

The Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals spotlights the best 21-and-under tennis players in the world. Popular 35-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini might be more than a decade removed from that classification, but he was thrilled to be at the Allianz Cloud on Tuesday with wife, WTA legend Flavia Pennetta.

“It’s nice. Milan, it’s a really beautiful city,” Fognini said. “For the tennis, especially because we are in Italy, it’s really important for us to have these kind of [Italian] guys who are on the top of the world [playing].”

?? @fabiofogna supporting @Lorenzo1Musetti ?@intesasanpaolo #NextGenATPFinals pic.twitter.com/eRHsO2WHba

There are three Italians in the field: Lorenzo Musetti, Francesco Passaro and Matteo Arnaldi. Another Italian, Jannik Sinner, won the 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. Fognini watched countryman Lorenzo Musetti from courtside Tuesday.

“It’s always nice. I always say that the more we are, the better it is,” Fognini said. “There are three Italians, Lorenzo [Musetti], [Francesco] Passaro and Matteo [Arnaldi]. It’s really important for us.”

Italian Lorenzo Musetti wasted little time earning victory at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals Tuesday when he flew past Chun-Hsin Tseng 4-2, 4-2, 4-2 to move to 1-0 in Red Group.

Making his second appearance in Milan, the 20-year-old delighted the vocal home crowd throughout the 70-minute clash with his stunning shotmaking. Musetti struck a series of passing shots off both wings and demonstrated good touch around the net to ensure he made the perfect start at the 21-and-under event.

“It was really nice,” Musetti said. “I remember playing here from last year. The crowd here is really amazing. They gave me extra energy. I am pretty confident and happy with the win. The shorter times [between points] means you can be in a rush, so you need to be patient and look at the times and not rush.”

Musetti was in constant dialogue with coach Simone Tartarin during the clash. Seated courtside, Tartarin was provided with data and analytics by the TennisViz system during the match, helping him negotiate a tactical plan with Musetti, who is the highest ranked player competing in Milan.

The World No. 23, who hit 17 winners and broke serve four times, captured his maiden tour-level title in Hamburg in July before he tasted success on home soil in Naples last month.

Dominic Stricker will try to make a fast start at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals Tuesday when he faces Jack Draper in Green Group.

The 20-year-old Swiss, who earned four Top 40 wins in 2022, is making his debut in Milan as he aims to become the fifth champion at the event. Stricker caught up with ATPTour.com ahead of his opening match, discussing deep sea fishing, his perfect day and more…

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If you weren’t a tennis player, what job would you want and why?
I think I would be a teacher. I went once to a school to see what that job is like. My sister is on her way to being a teacher, but I'm also pretty interested in being a teacher. I think I would be a sports teacher.

If you could have dinner with three people, who would they be and why?
I would choose Roger [Federer]. I would choose Tiger Woods and I would choose Michael Jordan. These three guys are really something special in their sport. I think it's also pretty different from every sport. I think all three had amazing careers.

Jiri Lehecka celebrated his 21st birthday in style at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals Tuesday when he cruised past Francesco Passaro 4-1, 4-3(7), 4-1 to move to 1-0 in Green Group.

The Czech is making his debut in Milan and made a strong opening statement at the 21-and-under event, quickly adapting to the first-to-four, best-of five set format to triumph after 67 minutes.

"I have never played a match in this format before," Lehecka said. "In the beginning I was getting used to it a little bit. I think I adapted well. We have used this format in practise and I got used to it pretty fast and it was fun."

Lehecka pulled Passaro around the court with his consistent groundstrokes, firing 18 winners and breaking serve three times. With just 15 seconds between points following aces or missed returns, he also raced through his service games to earn victory.

The World No. 74 has enjoyed an impressive season. He reached the semi-finals as a qualifier in Rotterdam in February, before he clinched an ATP Challenger Tour crown in August.

Jiri Lehecka couldn’t stop smiling when he sat down inside the Allianz Cloud ahead of his debut at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

The Czech qualified for the 21-and-under event last month following an impressive season that saw him reach the semi-finals in Rotterdam and win an ATP Challenger Tour event. Ahead of his opening match in Milan, the 21-year-old Lehecka spoke to ATPTour.com about his interests, dream dinner guests and much more…

If you weren’t a tennis player, what job would you want and why?
I think I would go to business school first. Then I would probably still be in tennis. I would be in the sport as a coach or in a business role within the sport.

If you could have dinner with three people, who would they be and why?
I would choose Michael Jordan. Then I would choose Conor McGregor and probably my grandpa who [passed away].

I think Michael Jordan because of his sporting mentality. What things he was able to sacrifice for the success in what he was doing. McGregor, I would say that with him, I would love to speak about handling the pressure.

When American Ben Shelton fell short in the Tiburon Challenger final this past month, the teenager left California frustrated that he had lost in all three ATP Challenger Tour finals in which he had competed this year. But a new mindset aided Shelton this week as he grabbed his maiden Challenger crown.

Shelton, who is one of five Challenger champions this week, defeated close friend Christopher Eubanks 7-6(4), 7-5 in the final at the Jonathan Fried Pro Challenger in Charlottesville, Virginia to capture his long-awaited title.

“I started to realise that when I looked back on the film, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was,” Shelton said. “I really tried to focus on the things I can control, stop worrying about the little things such as how well I’m hitting my forehand and instead just compete really hard.”

After runner-up finishes in Rome (Georgia), Chicago, and Tiburon, the 20-year-old dropped just one set all week in Charlottesville en route to the title. The former University of Florida standout is the fifth player to win the NCAA singles title and a Challenger title in the same season and the first since Steve Johnson in 2012.

When Italian Mattia Bellucci earned his first Pepperstone ATP Rankings points in 2018, the youngster relished seeing his name amongst the stars he watched on TV, such as his idol, Rafael Nadal.

This season, the 21-year-old added his name to a new list. Bellucci advanced through qualifying en route to capturing his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title at the Saint-Tropez Challenger in October. He didn’t stop there.

At the Vilnius Challenger, the lefty dropped just one set all week en route to claiming back-to-back titles. Winning 12 straight matches was a welcome sight to Bellucci.

“I remember playing my first Futures in 2017 or 2018 and I got my first two [ranking] points and it felt amazing,” Bellucci said. “Being in the same rankings as my idols, even if I was like 1,000 something, it felt special.

A quartet of first-time ATP Head2Head meetings kick off the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals on Tuesday, when all eight competitors at the 21-and-under season finale will seek a fast start at the Allianz Cloud in Milan.

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[2] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) vs. [6] Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE)

The highest-ranked player in the event, World No. 23 Lorenzo Musetti will take to court for his Red Group battle against Chun-Hsin Tseng in confident mood following an impressive run of late-season form on European hard courts.

The 20-year-old won his second Tour title in Naples in October and took out Casper Ruud en route to the quarter-finals in Paris last week. He also has experience with the event’s innovative first-to-four-games, best-of-five-sets format, having gone 1-2 in the round-robin stage in 2021.

#NextGenATP stars Jack Draper and Dominic Stricker have been practising hard in Milan as they prepare to make their debuts at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

The Briton and Swiss lefty will both compete in Red Group at the 21-and-under event. However, before the action starts, the pair got to know each other at the weekend when they shared jokes while walking the streets of Milan.

“I am a cool guy,” Stricker told Draper when describing his personality. “In my free time I like to play games with my family and video games.”

“I would say I am a pretty chilled guy,” Draper replied. “Tennis is a big part of my life, but I like to be home and be with my family and friends. I like to chill and do normal things and be a normal 20-year-old.”

Draper will play Stricker in his opening match on Tuesday night. Both players feel they have what it takes to lift the trophy in Milan at the fifth edition of the event.

Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals begins Tuesday in Milan. But first, the 21-and-under stars took a walk outside the Allianz Cloud for this year’s official group photo.

As the seasons change in Milan, the players posed in front of a resplendent stretch of leaves a block away from the tournament venue.

From left to right, the players competing in this year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals are Francesco Passaro, Chun-Hsin Tseng, Brandon Nakashima, Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper, Jiri Lehecka, Dominic Stricker and Matteo Arnaldi.

Green Group consists of Nakashima, Lehecka, Passaro and Arnaldi, while Red Group features Musetti, Draper, Tseng and Stricker.

Six of the eight competitors are tournament debutants, with the exception of home favourite Musetti and 2021 semi-finalist Nakashima. The tournament runs 8-12 November.

For Jiri Lehecka, sporting success runs in the family. His father was a swimmer and his mother was a track and field star. While the Czech has long enjoyed skiing, swimming and running, tennis was always his first passion. Lehecka struck his first shots at three years old with his grandmother, who competed in tennis at a national level, before he turned professional in 2020.

Now the 20-year-old is No. 74 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and is ready to make his mark in the game after enjoying a breakthrough season on the ATP Tour that started in Rotterdam in February.

“For me, [Rotterdam] was an unbelievable week because I started the year pretty fine,” Lehecka told ATPTour.com. “I qualified in Australia. I lost in the first round in four sets, so the season was starting pretty well for me. Then I had two or three weeks where I didn’t play good tennis. I played bad and didn’t feel good on court. Then my coach joined me at Rotterdam. We did some improvements and hard work and in Rotterdam it was an unbelievable week. A little surprising, but I was enjoying every moment there.”

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In a confidence-boosting week, Lehecka came through qualifying at the ATP 500 event before he earned his maiden tour-level win against Denis Shapovalov in the first round. He then defeated Botic van de Zandschulp and Lorenzo Musetti before Stefanos Tsitsipas halted his run in the semi-finals.

Last season, Brandon Nakashima made his mark at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. The 21-year-old earned round-robin stage victories against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Holger Rune before he lost to Sebastian Korda in a five-set semi-final thriller.

Twelve months on and the American is excited to be back in Milan where he is aiming to take the next step and triumph at the 21-and-under event.

“I had such great memories in Milan last year,” Nakashima told ATPTour.com. “I think the ATP and the tournament director do such a great job there. The atmosphere with the fans and everything is super nice, super cool. It’s always nice to just play a fun, competitive tournament with people your age. I think it’s going to be another great tournament this year.

“Last year I played Korda and that match was super exciting, [against a] fellow American. I think all these [young] guys have such great games and such unique games that bring different aspects to tennis that makes it so cool.”

After gaining a taste for Milan and the vocal Italian fans last year, Nakashima was determined to qualify again in 2022, making it a priority at the start of the season.