Damien Kayat previews Luca Van Assche vs Abedallah Shelbayh and Alex Michelson vs Hamad Medjedovic in Red Group Matches of the Next Generation ATP Finals on the 28th of November 2023.
2023 ATP Tour
Next Generation ATP Finals
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Indoor Hardcourt)
Red Group Matches – 28th November
Luca Van Assche (2) | Abedallah Shelbayh (8)
Luca Van Assche will be taking on Abedallah Shelbayh in the Red Group in what is set to be the first ATP-sanctioned event to ever be held in Saudi Arabia.
Currently the 2nd youngest player in the top 100- behind top seed Arthur Fils- the Frenchman made his mark on the junior circuit with victory at the 2021 French men Boys’ Singles event. This year has seen Van Assche steadily rise though the rankings. He won his first Grand Slam match at the French Open and he also showed some definite improvement on harder surfaces.
He defeated established French star Ugo Humbert in an epic Challenger final earlier this season, managing to diffuse the big-scoring lefty in quick indoor conditions. He beat Davidovich Fokina at this year’s German Open and he recently saw off Botic van de Zandschulp and Stan Wawrinka to reach the quarterfinals of the Moselle Open.
While his early career seems to suggest a preference for clay, there have been enough improvements on faster surfaces to make Van Assche a threat for this title.
Abedallah Shelbayh is this year’s wildcard entry and he will be no doubt receive rapturous support from the Saudi crowd. The Jordanian is breaking new ground for his country with every incremental achievement and he will be a real dark horse contender this week.
He became the first Jordanian to reach a Challenger final earlier this season in Manama. He went one step further at the recent Challenger event in Charleston, wining the title to become the first Jordanian to win a Challenger event.
He won his first tour-level match at the Banja Luka Open and he recently disposed of Hugo Gaston at the Moselle Open in Metz. That result saw him break into the top 200 for the first time in his career and he will essentially be freerolling this week.
Shelbayh- who trained extensively at the Rafa Nadal Academy- was criticized by Toni Nadal for occasionally lacking the right mindset in training.
Verdict: Shelbayh to win in four at 11/4
I just have a sneaky suspicion that the Jordanian is going to wow in front of the strong Arb contingent. That recent Challenger victory in Charleston showcased his hardcourt attributes and I think he could handle these conditions better than the higher ranked Frenchman.
Alex Michelson (4) | Hamad Medjedovic (6)
19-year-old Alex Michelon is certainly one of the more exciting prosects featured in this year’s tournament. The lanky 19-year-old American has a strong serve and seems comfortable on faster surfaces.
He reached his maiden ATP Final on debut in Newport, beating the likes pf Isner and Cressey en route to the championship match. He also comes into this match in excellent fettle, reaching back-to-back Challenger finals (including a victory in Knoxville).
Michelson made a huge call earlier this season, opting to forego his chance of playing for the Georgia Bulldogs to pursue a pro career. Reaching these Next Gen finals is probably the first sign that he may have indeed made the right call.
20-year-old Serbian Hamad Medjedovic is a real anomaly this week. He reached a career-high ATP ranking of 102 last month after an absolutely brilliant showing at the Astana Open.
He beat the powerhouse trio of Djere, Shevchenko and Lehecka before succumbing to Seb Korda in a gruelling three-set semi-final. But his form has fallen off an absolute cliff since then. He went from almost beating World No.25 Korda to losing to the World No.646 in his following match.
The Serb has only won one match- tour-level or Challenger- since Astana and he desperately needs to turn his form around if he wishes to challenge the in-form American.
Verdict: Michelson to win in three sets at 33/10
Michelson went 7-5 at tour-level this year and he comes into this event in really strong Challenger form. He will be desperate to validate his decision to turn pro and I just think these quick conditions will perfectly suit his game. He can use his serve to dominate proceeding and I can see him running out an easy winner here.
