Next In Line
The Fierce Feuds lighting up the latest #NextGenATP wave
Budkov Kjaer, Bailly, Basavareddy discuss on-court rivals
December 02, 2025
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Gilles Arnaud Bailly, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and Nishesh Basavareddy feature in this week’s Next in Line feature.
By Andy West
They may be relatively fresh to life on the tennis circuit, but the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF competitors have wasted little time in striking up Fierce Feuds with their on-court rivals.
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer will be finely tuned to performing on the big stage when he steps on court for his Jeddah debut later this month. The 19-year-old Norwegian finished his regular season by playing ATP Tour events in Stockholm, Vienna (his ATP 500 debut) and Metz, and he opened up to ATPTour.com about some of the deep-rooted relationships that already exist between some of the brightest young stars in men’s tennis.
“Joel Schwaerzler and I travelled to a J500 in Osaka our first ITF junior year,” recalled Budkov Kjaer to ATPTour.com. “We practised a lot together that week and I won the training sets, I remember, but then he beat me 7-6, 7-5 in the final. The year after we won the doubles at Roland Garros together and I feel we both have had a rivalry and friendship in one.
“These days I have a lot of fun with Alexander Blockx, we go to many of the same Challengers. But I was quite far behind all the other Next Gen’s when I was young. Only from the age of 15 did I improve fast and from 16 I started to play the same tournaments as all these other players.”
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Even if he ends up only facing opponents with whom he is less familiar than Blockx in Jeddah, Budkov Kjaer is aware of the level he will have to hit if he wants to make an impact at King Abdullah Sports City.
“I think they are all really talented, everyone with their own extraordinary skill set,” said the Norwegian, when asked about the other Jeddah contenders. “History has shown that the Next Gen finals participants can impact tennis the next decade. Some of the players I already know a bit, the others I look forward to meeting for the first time and get to know better – on and off court.”
Another player very familiar with Blockx is his fellow 20-year-old Belgian Gilles Arnaud Bailly. Bailly believes that friendly rivalries with Blockx and other rivals his age have the potential to act as crucial motivators in his career.
“I have a really good relationship with Blockx. We talk a lot and we get on so well,” said Bailly, who hit a career-high No. 201 in the PIF ATP Rankings on 10 November. “Because I am climbing now, I hope we can play more tournaments together. We have a lot of contact together and we play some games on the phone together, so there is a competitive edge there.
“I get on really well with him and I hope to see him and the others more often on Tour and the relationships will develop. I have known Blockx for many years and we keep pushing each other and it is healthy to have that relationship.”
Bailly earned his maiden tour-level win on home soil in October by defeating World No. 51 Daniel Altmaier in Brussels after using a Next Gen entry spot to enter qualifying at the indoor ATP 250. He spoke of how important he thinks competing at the top level is for the development of #NextGenATP stars.
“I think the Next Gen entry spots we get given are great,” said Bailly, referring to the Next Gen Accelerator pathway, which offers 20-and-under players ranked in the Top 250 eligibility for one ATP 250 main draw spot and two ATP 250 qualifying event opportunities each season. “The other Next Gen guys are doing so well.
“Blockx, Landaluce, Budkov Kjaer are all doing really well on the ATP Tour and Challenger Tour. It is great from the ATP to give us chances, otherwise it would be tough to play some events, so that support is helpful. I like seeing the other young players do well, it gives you further drive.”
Watch Highlights Of Bailly’s Breakthrough ATP Tour Win:
One player that can attest to Bailly’s theory is Nishesh Basavareddy. Having made his Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in 2024 alongside a familiar face from his junior days, Learner Tien, Basavareddy then faced his friend and rival for the first time at Tour-level on one of the biggest stages of them all: in the first round at Wimbledon in July.
“The first time I met Learner was when I was six,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com. “We played at the Little Mo Regionals in San Diego, and I remember those matches being real battles. I also played Alex [Michelsen] when I was seven and he was already a year older than me. We crossed paths at junior tournaments all the time, and over the years, we’ve not only competed but become close friends.”
Basavareddy and Tien did not play each other in Jeddah a year ago, when the latter went on to reach the championship match. With Tien having triumphed in straight sets in their Wimbledon clash and both players now having qualified once again for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, the 20-year-old Basavareddy will be seeking a revenge win.
“I think our games match up pretty well,” Basavareddy told ATPTour.com when asked about Tien ahead of their Wimbledon clash. “We are both not the biggest servers, but we have a lot of baseline rallies. The [two Challenger] matches [we played in 2024] were quite long, especially the first one in a final. He’s a counterpuncher, he makes a lot of balls, and he’s really smart out there, so he makes it tough on you.”
This is the sixth feature of our Next Gen ATP series Next in Line. Read our other stories here:
Wimbledon dreams, Nishikori’s run & Vinci’s courtside lessons: Next Gen stars share memories
Next Steps: How Tien, Basavareddy & Engel are making the leap
Learning from Legends: Nadal, Cilic & Ram inspiring #NextGenATP stars
Fuel for the future: Inside the mindset of the best youngsters
The voices driving Landaluce & Cina to the top