#NextGenATP Q2 Review: Fils, Shelton Set Pace, Van Assche & Stricker In Contention
Several #NextGenATP stars have continued to make their moves in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race, with maiden tour-level titles, breakthrough wins and career-high rankings the story of the second quarter of the 2023 season.
Frenchman Arthur Fils lifted his maiden tour-level trophy on home soil in Lyon, while Ben Shelton earned his first tour-level wins on clay and grass. Dominic Stricker, Hamad Medjedovic and Alex Michelsen have all tasted success, clinching crowns at ATP Challenger Tour events.
NextGenATPFinals.com looks at some of the most notable #NextGenATP accomplishments of the second quarter of the season.
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Fils & Shelton Continue To Set Pace
Frenchman Fils, who is aiming to make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals, is currently fourth (693 points) in the Live Next Gen Race. The 19-year-old enjoyed impressive results on the European clay, advancing through qualifying to reach the second round at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome before he captured his maiden tour-level title in Lyon. Having started the season outside the Top 250, Fils’ results lifted him to a career-high No. 58 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in June.
"I will remember this forever," Fils said following his title triumph in Lyon. "It has been a great week. It has been amazing. I am happy with the win and now I want more.”
Shelton has also continued to make good progress after a standout start to the season, highlighted by his run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. The 20-year-old American made his tour-level debut on clay and grass in the second quarter of 2023, earning two tour-level wins on both surfaces. Aiming to make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals, fifth-placed Shelton (645 points) will be seeking strong results during the North American hard-court season. Last year he reached the third round in Cincinnati, upsetting Top 5 star Casper Ruud.
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Ben Shelton
Luca Van Assche
Arthur Cazaux
Arthur Fils
Hamad Medjedovic
Bu Yunchaokete
Dominic Stricker
Jakub Mensik
Frenchmen Van Assche & Cazaux Impress, Stricker In Contention
Frenchmen Luca Van Assche and Arthur Cazaux are sixth (487 points) and ninth (348 points), respectively, in the Live Next Gen Race. The 19-year-old Van Assche, who won an ATP Challenger Tour title at the start of April, captured his maiden Grand Slam match win at Roland Garros, defeating Marco Cecchinato.
Van Assche spoke to ATPTour.com before Wimbledon on how he is finding life on Tour.
“Now on the ATP [Tour] I am taking another step. It's more complicated because every player wants to win for their life. And they're all very, very good, so you never have an easy match. It’s a different world, but I'm enjoying my, my life on Tour and it's only the beginning,” said Van Assche, who is No. 75 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. “I am learning a lot of things at lots of different new events.”
[BREAK POINT]
Cazaux, 20, had never competed on grass prior to this season but showed his pedigree on the surface when he advanced to the final at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Nottingham. The Frenchman, who lost against former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the final, also reached the semi-finals at a Challenger event on the lawns in Ilkley.
Swiss lefty Stricker, currently seventh (371 points) is chasing his second appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals. The 20-year-old, who reached the semi-finals at the 21-and-under event last year, lifted his second Challenger Tour trophy of the season in Prague in May before he captured his first major match win at Wimbledon.
Chasing Pack
Serbian Medjedovic, American Michelsen and Czech Dalibor Svrcina have all won Challenger Tour titles in the second quarter of the season, while Italian Flavio Cobolli has continued to impress.
The eighth-placed Medjedovic (353 points) triumphed at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Austria and is into the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 in Gstaad this week. The 11th-placed Michelsen (286 points) earned victory on home soil in Chicago and then defeated Maxime Cressy in Newport to earn his first tour-level win on Tuesday. The 12th-placed Svricna (272 points) won a title in the Czech Republic, while 10th-placed Cobolli (337 points) advanced to the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 event in Munich.