'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tennis insider Jose Morgado voiced his opinion on social media platform X about Nishesh Basavareddy earning his first tour-level win at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. The American player has exclusively played tennis in the US. As a college player, he got a few chances to play at the Challenger Tour, where he racked up several wins in the latter half of 2024, good enough to earn his spot in Jeddah.
There he faced Juncheng Shang in the second round after losing to Alex Michelsen in the first round, and he beat him, coming back after dropping the opening set. That win is officially his first one in an ATP Tour-level event, which Morgado found to be a bit bizarre.
"I really like this tournament, but it makes absolutely ZERO sense to count this as a tour-level win. And shouldn't count to the h2h as well, lol," Morgado wrote on X.
Trending
The Next Gen Finals do count as an ATP event, and the wins count as regular ATP wins, but the event features dramatically different rules compared to regular ATP matches. From that standpoint, it doesn't make much sense for it to count towards official ATP statistics, as the matches are, for example, played in a format that is first to 4 games.
There are lots of other gimmicky rules as well, but that is by design, so not a coincidence. In any case, the win over Shang was the first for rising talent Basavareddy, who announced recently that he's turning professional and leaving college.
Next Gen Finals
The Next Gen Finals have undergone quite a journey as an event. It started out nicely enough with a few revolutionary rules here and there, some of which got adapted at the highest level. It was an event that was played in Milan, moving to Jeddah last year.
The event is supposed to be what the name implies, a showcase of the best young players of tennis. In that sense, it largely succeeded because lots of great players like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and others have played in it.
It's become a foundational part of the ATP Tour, though this year's timing of it is another innovation and time will tell whether it sticks around as a sort of pre-season event.
