Brandon Nakashima and Dominic Stricker swept their respective groups and advanced to the semifinals of the Next Gen ATP Finals on Thursday in Milan, Italy.
They’ll be joined by Jiri Lehecka and Jack Draper, who won do-or-die matches Thursday to earn second place in their respective groups.
The tournament includes the world’s top eight 21-and-under players, who were separated into two groups for round-robin play. The winner of each group will face the runner-up from the other group in the semifinals.
In the event’s unique format that features no-ad scoring and sets to four games, with tiebreakers at 3-3, Nakashima beat Italy’s Francesco Passaro 4-3 (4), 4-2, 4-1 to go 3-0 in the Green Group. The American had six aces and broke Passaro’s serve three times in five opportunities.
Lehecka, from the Czech Republic, beat Italian Matteo Arnaldi 4-3 (5), 4-1, 4-3 (4). Lehecka saved all six break points he faced.
In the Red Group, Switzerland’s Stricker beat Chun-Hsin Tseng of Taiwan 4-2, 4-1, 4-2 in just under 57 minutes.
Great Britain’s Draper took down Italian Lorenzo Musetti — the highest-seeded player in the field coming in — 4-1, 4-0, 4-3 (3). Both players were 1-1 in the group entering the match, making it a win-and-in situation.
Nakashima and Draper will face off in one semifinal on Friday, while Stricker and Lehecka will play in the other.
Next Gen ATP Finals group standings:
Green Group
1. Brandon Nakashima, 3-0
2. Jiri Lehecka, 2-1
3. Francesco Passaro, 1-2
4. Matteo Arnaldi, 0-3
Red Group
1. Dominic Stricker, 3-0
2. Jack Draper, 2-1
2. Lorenzo Musetti, 1-2
4. Chun-Hsin Tseng, 0-3
–Field Level Media
