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The 2022 season reaches its crescendo this week for eight of the ATP Tour’s brightest 21-and-under talents, who head to the Allianz Cloud in Milan to compete in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper and Brandon Nakashima headline the field in Italy from 8-12 November at an event renowned for its unique format and pioneering innovations.

As the action kicks off with a round-robin stage consisting of two group of four, ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch from the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

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At the start of the Rolex Paris Masters, Wesley Koolhof knew a semi-final run would be enough to earn him a debut atop the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. But the 33-year-old didn't stop there, finishing the week with his seventh title of the 2022 season, all won alongside Neal Skupski.

"It means everything, obviously. I think the first goal you have when you start playing tennis is you want to become World No. 1," Koolhof said after clinching the milestone achievement on Saturday. "I didn't know until I opened the [Pepperstone ATP] Live Rankings on Monday, because I saw the Nitto ATP Finals points drop off for Ram and Salisbury. [I] needed to make the semi-finals here [Paris] to be No. 1. It feels great to reach the goal."

Koolhof is the fourth Dutchman to rank No. 1 individually in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, since 1976. He joins Tom Okker (1979), Paul Haarhuis (1994) and Jacco Eltingh (1995) in claiming the honour.

Set to be the top seeds at the Nitto ATP Finals, which begins 13 November, Koolhof and Skupski lead all doubles teams on the ATP Tour this season in wins (54), finals (10) and titles (seven). 

"It's been great," Koolhof said of the first-year partnership. "We first started playing together in Australia. We actually had a talk here in Bercy last year. I approached Neal [to ask] if he was available to play with next year. I think we just combined well from the first practice on. We've done very good, won a lot of matches, a lot of titles. I think it's very special to share this with Neal."

When Holger Rune began his 2022 season, he was No. 103 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and needed to enter qualifying at his first tournament of the year. The Danish teen will not need to worry about doing that again any time soon.

By defeating Novak Djokovic in the Rolex Paris Masters final on Sunday, Rune guaranteed he would crack the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday at World No. 10. Rune is the first man from Denmark to accomplish the feat.

Only two active players broke into the Top 10 at a younger age than the 19-year-old — Rafael Nadal (18) and Carlos Alcaraz (18). Rune did so earlier than a laundry list of current and former superstars, including Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“I didn't expect that at all four or five weeks ago but now I'm here,” said Rune, who will be the first alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.. “I'm super happy how I officially ended my season, and if there possibly is more matches, I'm just super excited for it. Right now I just can't wait to get some sleep, get some food, just relax totally.”

Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
This time last year, Rune and Carlos Alcaraz were competing in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. Now Rune is in the Top 10 and Alcaraz is well-positioned to finish year-end World No. 1. This is the first time two teenagers have been ranked inside the Top 10 in more than 15 years. Djokovic and Murray were teens in the elite group on 14 May 2007.

Novak Djokovic won five more points in the match. Holger Rune ran a specific serve strategy that won the point 16 of 18 times. There’s your upset in a nutshell.

Rune defeated Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Rolex Paris Masters final on Sunday on the back of dominating his service games with a Serve + 1 forehand approach. It was almost unstoppable. Rune won 89% (16/18) of points when he started with a serve and a forehand approach. In comparison, he came to the net only eight times behind a Serve +1 backhand approach, winning just three (38%).

Hit a serve. Hit a forehand approach. Collect the most impressive silverware of your emerging career.

Rune’s winning strategy was to take time away from Djokovic and take control of the point as quickly as possible. Rune served and volleyed eight times, winning five. He made contact with the ball 38 per cent of the time inside the baseline, compared to Djokovic’s 33 per cent. Rune took advantage of every opportunity to lean on the ball and make Djokovic defend. Rune hunted more forehands (165-147), repeatedly putting himself in an offensive situation in the point.Fortune favours a north-south strategy.

Rune was also the more opportunistic player on the court. He only saw three break points in the match, and converted every one. In stark contrast, Djokovic amassed 12 break points in the two hour and 33 minute encounter, but only managed to convert two of them. It must have felt like sand slipping through his fingers.

Holger Rune’s 2022 Rolex Paris Masters campaign could so easily have been an unremarkable first-round exit. Instead it became a career-altering run that featured five consecutive Top 10 wins and a first ATP Masters 1000 title, earning him a place as first alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The 19-year-old Dane saved three match points in a first-round thriller against Stan Wawrinka, his lone opponent not inside the Top 10. But after dropping the opening set against the Swiss, he did not lose another until Sunday's final, a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 win against Novak Djokovic.

"It's quite incredible," Rune said of his dream week. "To stay here with the trophy, it's an amazing feeling. Something that was tough to expect, starting the week off having three match points down. Then now to be able to be here with this beautiful trophy is an absolutely amazing feeling."

Rune said the gravity of his accomplishment did not sink in immediately after the final, as he was focused on staying in the moment during the match. But he allowed himself to take a step back soon after.

"It was very emotional after the match. It's probably the best feeling of my life, of my whole career," he said. "It's kind of a small dream come true, even though I have bigger dreams. It's a really good step on the way to be able to play these kind of matches against one of the greatest players like Novak. To be able to win that last game was the biggest relief of my life. My stress level was very high, so I'm super happy to come through."

Novak Djokovic saw his twin 13-match win streaks snapped by Holger Rune in Sunday's Rolex Paris Masters final, but leaves the ATP Masters 1000 event full of confidence ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals. The Serbian had recorded 13 straight victories both overall and in Bercy, where he won the 2019 and 2021 titles.

Djokovic gave Rune full credit for the upset victory, providing a glowing assessment of both the Dane's level and his own.

"Of course I'm disappointed with the loss today, but I was very close. It was just very few points that decided a winner," he reflected. "But the level of tennis that I'm playing is high, and I like my chances [in Turin]. Of course, every match is like a final there. There are no easy matches."

While the Serbian rued his missed chances in the final, where he was seeking a record-extending seventh Paris title, he spent more time discussing the excellence of his 19-year-old opponent.

"He stayed composed also mentally all the way to the last shot," Djokovic said of Rune. "For somebody who is so young to show this composure and maturity in the big match like this is very impressive. He's had a week of his life, I mean, winning against five Top 10 players, it's quite impressive."

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski clinched year-end No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings on Sunday when they lifted the Rolex Paris Masters trophy. It is first time either player has been part of the year-end No. 1 duo.

The Dutchman and Briton made a quick start to their partnership at the beginning of the season and have not looked back. The pair has won seven titles this year, including triumphs at three ATP Masters 1000 events.

“[It means] a lot, obviously. It was one of the goals we set for this year. I think we’ve reached all the goals we set in January, so it means the world to us,” Koolhof said. “I think we’ve been playing great tennis from the start in Australia and managed to keep it going until here. We have one more week to go, so let’s continue this run in Turin.”

Koolhof and Skupski began 2022 by lifting trophies at ATP 250 events in Melbourne and Adelaide. That set the tone for the year, in which they have tallied a 54-17 record.

Their biggest victories of the season came at the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid, Montreal and Paris. They have also triumphed in Doha and ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Holger Rune has withdrawn from the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. The Dane will be replaced by Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

The 19-year-old Rune, who competed in Milan last year, surged to his first ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters. The teen will be the first alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Arnaldi will join the Green Group at the 21-and-under season finale, which will also feature Brandon Nakashima, Jiri Lehecka and Francesco Passaro. The Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals begins on Tuesday at the Allianz Cloud.

The 21-year-old Arnaldi has soared up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings the past two seasons, climbing nearly 900 places. The Italian won his first ATP Challenger Tour title this season in Italy and also reached Challenger finals in San Marino and France. 

Arnaldi is one of three Italians in the field with fellow home favourites Lorenzo Musetti and Passaro also competing. The trio will try to join Jannik Sinner as Italian Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champions.

Holger Rune’s rapid rise hit a new milestone Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the 19-year-old staged a stunning comeback to down six-time Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and clinch his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Having dropped the first set, the #NextGenATP Dane recovered from 0/40 in the opening game of the second and a 1-3 deficit in the third, saving six break points in the final game as he dug deep to defeat Djokovic and claim the biggest title of his young career in dramatic fashion.

"It means everything to me, a perfect way to finish the week," said Rune. "It's a privilege to share the court with Novak."

In a head-spinning rise for the teen this week, Rune surges to 10th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and will serve as first alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals (13-20 November). As a result, he has withdrawn from next week's Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

Rune was playing in his fourth consecutive ATP Tour final and has now won 19 of his past 21 matches. The Dane’s title run in Paris will also lift him to a career-high No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski completed an ATP Masters 1000 hat-trick for 2022 on Sunday with victory at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the Dutch-British pairing held off the in-form Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the championship match.

Dodig and Krajicek were playing in their fourth ATP Tour final in as many weeks in France, but second seeds Koolhof and Skupski were clinical in securing a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory. It was a third Masters 1000 crown for the team following its triumphs in Madrid and Montreal, and it has now won seven tour-level titles since coming together at the start of the 2022 season. Sunday's win also confirmed Koolhof and Skupski as the year-end No. 1 team in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

“[It means] a lot, obviously,” said Koolhof after he and Skupski confirmed their status as year-end No. 1. “It was one of the goals we set for this year. I think we reached all the goals we set in January, so it means the world to us. I think we’ve been playing great tennis from the start in Australia and managed to keep it going until here. We have one more week to go, so let’s continue this run in Turin.”

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Despite letting slip a 4-1 lead early in France, Koolhof and Skupski held firm to take the opening set in a tie-break. A break in the third game of the second was enough for the second seeds to seal the title as they wrapped a clinical 93-minute victory in which they converted two of three break point opportunities.

Brandon Nakashima and Chun-Hsin Tseng will compete at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan next week.

Prior to the action getting underway, however, the #NextGenATP stars swapped the tennis court for the football pitch on Saturday when they went to watch Italian giants AC Milan face Spezia Calcio in Serie A.

Nakashima and Tseng supported AC Milan from the touchline, cheering the home side on to an important 2-1 win at the San Siro Stadium. The pair also posed for photos with AC Milan legends Franco Baresi [bottom right] and Daniele Massaro [bottom left], while they spoke and took pictures with young fans.

Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Nakashima and Tseng will now turn their attention to the 21-and-under event at the Allianz Cloud. The 21-year-old American Nakashima, who is making his second appearance in Milan, is in Green Group. Tseng, 21, of Chinese Taipei is making his debut and will compete in Red Group.

When Chun-Hsin Tseng was growing up, he enjoyed all sports. Baseball, one of the most popular sports in his home country of Chinese Taipei, was not at the top of his list.

“In school we did not [have] original baseball, but you hit the ball and the rules are similar like [in] baseball,” Tseng recalled. “I really like the feeling when you hit the ball so far and you run the bases, so that’s why I started [it] when I was very young.”

Tseng never fully immersed himself in the sport, though. It took until the Covid-19 pandemic for him to begin watching more baseball videos on the Internet. Once he did, it became a major part of his life. Playing professional tennis is Tseng’s career, vut baseball has become part of what helps fuel the 21-year-old’s success.

Some players warm up for practice by riding a bike in the gym or kicking around a football. Tseng throws a baseball like a pitcher.

“Now I’m following the [baseball] highlights every day. I really like to watch baseball and also I like to throw,” said Tseng, who travels with a baseball glove. “I always do it before my practice. It’s good to warm up my shoulder. The motion is similar like my serve, so it also helped me to serve better.”

Holger Rune had just broken into the Top 150 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings before his first meeting with Novak Djokovic at the 2021 US Open. Now, the 19-year-old Dane has a chance to make his Top 10 debut with a win against the Serbian in Sunday's Rolex Paris Masters final (3pm CET/9am ET).

The #NextGenATP star has shown that the future is now by reaching four straight finals during the indoor season, and he rides an 18-2 record during that stretch into his clash with Djokovic. After snapping Felix Auger-Aliassime's 16-match win streak in the semis, the Stockholm champion will seek his fifth Top 10 win in as many days in his first ATP Masters 1000 final. He will need to end Djokovic's twin 13-match winning runs to earn it, with the Serbian streaking both in Paris — where he won the title in both 2019 and 2021 — and overall.

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With wins against Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime on the week, Rune has soared six spots to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Victory against Djokovic would also move him into 10th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, which would make him the fist alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Defending Paris champ Djokovic, who dropped a set to Rune in their US Open first-round meeting, has seen the Dane's rise first-hand.

Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek clinched the last spot at the Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday following a late-season surge. The Croatian-American duo will compete at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.

Since arriving in Florence in October they have won 14 of their 15 matches to earn their place at the season finale. The pair defeated Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals to guarantee their qualification.

Dodig and Krajicek first partnered in April in Belgrade before triumphing in Lyon. They then advanced to the final at Roland Garros final, where they defeated fellow Turin qualifiers Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury and Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos before falling short in the championship match to Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer.

The new team reached the final in Florence before lifting the trophy in back-to-back weeks in Naples and Basel. In Paris, they are into their first Masters 1000 final as a team.

Dodig and Krajicek join Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski, Ram/Salisbury, Arevalo/Rojer, Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic, Granollers/Zeballos, Lloyd Glasspool/Harri Heliovaara and Thanasi Kokkinakis/Nick Kyrgios in Turin.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski continued their standout season Saturday at the Rolex Paris Masters, defeating Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara in the semi-finals 6-1, 6-7(4), 10-6.

The Dutch-British team on Sunday will look to claim its seventh title this season and strengthen its claim for year-end No. 1 honours in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

Koolhof guaranteed his first-time rise Monday to No. 1 in the individual Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings one day earlier when the pair won their quarter-final.

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Koolhof and Skupski will aim for their third ATP Masters 1000 title this season (Madrid, Montreal) in Sunday’s championship match, where they will meet either Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek or German pair Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies. Both teams are in contention to claim the last Nitto ATP Finals doubles spot.

Novak Djokovic won his eighth straight match against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday in the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals, extending his twin win streaks to 13 matches both overall and at the ATP Masters 1000 event — but only just.

In a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4) victory, the Serbian won the final four points of the match after falling behind by a mini-break in the decisive tie-break, including a defensive masterclass to bring up match point. Djokovic could not convert two late break points at 4-4, 15/40, and instead needed a dramatic comeback of his own despite making a blistering start to the contest in the opening set.

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"It's very sweet, obviously, when you win matches like this against one of the best players in the world," Djokovic said after the victory. "I thought I started the match very well, again, great hitting like yesterday in the quarters. I had chances early on in the second, I didn't break his serve. The momentum shifted, the crowd got into it. I think he elevated his level of tennis.

"Deservedly so, we went into — both of us — into an even battle all the way until the last point, until the last shot. Some incredible points towards the end. I'm just really glad to overcome this challenge."

After nearly four weeks, three ATP Tour titles, and 16 matches won, Felix Auger-Aliassime was not going to let the disappointment of defeat at the Rolex Paris Masters get to him.

The Canadian fell to an inspired Holger Rune on Saturday in the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event, his first tour-level loss since the beginning of October, but Auger-Aliassime was keen to emphasise the positives as his remarkable run came to an end.

“Had I won today, had I won tomorrow, I would be in heaven,” said the 22-year-old at his post-match press conference. “It would be great to win. [But] throughout my career, I have always tried to draw lessons from my failures. As I said recently during the US Open, I lost early, it was disappointing, but I managed to overturn this into something positive."

Auger-Aliassime’s red-hot run earned him more than just trophies in Florence, Antwerp and Basel. The Canadian’s results over the past month were also crucial for securing his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 13-20 November, for the first time.

“It's the end of a winning streak,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It's something that was good that ended. From tomorrow onwards, I will focus my attention on Turin.”

#NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper entered the 2022 season at No. 265 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with just two tour-level wins to his name.

Fast forward 11 months and the 20-year-old arrives at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan as the World No. 45, holding a 17-11 tour-level record on the season. Having struggled with injuries in previous years, Draper feels that his ability to stay fit in 2022 has been paramount to his rise.

“It has been the first season I have been able to play lots,” Draper told ATPTour.com. “With my injuries in the past few years I have not been able to play as much as I would have wanted to, because of some unfortunate injuries. For example, I did some ligaments in my ankle. Just not getting that consistency of practising and competing. I think that is the biggest thing this year, just being able to stay fit and healthy and stay on court. I am ready physically and mentally to put it on court together.”

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Draper, who missed the second half of 2021 due to a ruptured ligament in his ankle, started the season on fire, winning four ATP Challenger Tour titles in the opening four months of the year.

Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday withdrew from the Nitto ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals because of an internal oblique muscle tear in his left abdominal wall, ending his season. 

"After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, @drlopezmartinez and @JuanjoMoreno_M, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks," Alcaraz tweeted. "Unfortunately I won't make the ATP Finals or the Davis Cup Finals. It is tough and painful for me to miss these two events, which are so important to me, but all I can do is be positive and focus on my recovery. Thank you for the support! ?"

After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, @drlopezmartinez and @JuanjoMoreno_M, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks. pic.twitter.com/MbVHhJF1Oe

Alcaraz completes his season with a 57-13 record. On 12 September he became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

The 19-year-old won five tour-level titles in 2022, including his first two ATP Masters 1000 victories (Miami and Madrid) and his first Grand Slam trophy at the US Open.

Holger Rune took his stellar late-season form to another level on Saturday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the #NextGenATP Dane dispatched Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2 to reach his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final.

Rune took control early in a meeting between two of the in-form players on the ATP Tour, using his aggressive groundstrokes to dictate play wherever possible and heap pressure on the Auger-Aliassime serve. Both players were competing for a spot in their fourth consecutive ATP Tour final, but the 19-year-old Rune converted three of eight break points to wrap a comprehensive 88-minute win.

“It was an unbelievable match from my side today,” said Rune after his triumph. “I really was sticking to the game plan for the whole match and just taking every chance I got. Putting Felix under pressure, that’s what my game plan was all about, and I managed to do it almost perfectly. I am super proud how I handled everything.”

Fourth final in a row. Fourth top-10 win in a row ?@holgerrune2003 snaps Auger-Aliassime’s SIXTEEN-match winning streak to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final in Paris!#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/gcfq107ye9

It was the second meeting between Rune and Auger-Aliassime in the space of six days, following the latter’s straight-sets triumph in the Basel final on Sunday. Yet the Canadian could not match Rune’s intensity or quality in Paris as the Dane convincingly halted Auger-Aliassime’s winning streak at 16 matches.