JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The Next Gen Finals championship match will feature one of the players being relied on to revive French tennis against the player that Serbia hopes can keep its flag at the top of the sport after Novak Djokovic.
Top-seeded Arthur Fils will meet Hamad Medjedovic on Saturday for the trophy in the season-ending tournament for the top eight players aged 21 or under.
The 19-year-old Fils beat fellow Frenchman Luca Van Assche 2-4, 4-1, 4-3 (1), 4-3 (6) on Friday. Then Medjedovic advanced when Dominic Stricker retired midway through their semifinal match due to a back injury. The 20-year-old Medjedovic was leading 4-3 (5), 2-1.
The tournament is being held in Saudi Arabia for the first time after it was played in Milan ever since the inaugural edition in 2017. Besides shorter sets, other changes to the usual tennis rules for the tournament include shorter changeovers and less time on the shot clock for some points.
Both Fils and the sixth-seeded Medjedovic went a perfect 3-0 in group play.
Fils is ranked No. 36 and Medjedovic is No. 110.
Fils became the youngest Frenchman in nearly two decades to win an ATP title when he triumphed at Lyon earlier this year.
Medjedovic, who is coached by Serbia’s Davis Cup captain Viktor Troicki, reached tour-level semifinals in Gstaad and Astana and won three lower-level Challenger events this year.
Past Next Gen champions include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.