![\"Learner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/16x9-(1).jpg\")
<\/p>\n Next Gen ATP Finals
\n Day 3 Preview: Tien vs. Budkov Kjaer caps thrilling RR finale in Jeddah <\/p>\n
Spaniards Landaluce & Jodar play in Blue Group; Basavareddy vs. Engel and Blockx vs. Prizmic in Red Group<\/p>\n
December 18, 2025<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Corinne Dubreuil\/ATP Tour<\/p>\n
Learner Tien faces Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in the final round-robin match of the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals.
\n By ATP Staff<\/p>\n
There are three semi-final spots up for grabs on Friday, the final day of round-robin action at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF<\/a> in Jeddah.<\/p>\n Alexander Blockx<\/a>, who leads Red Group, is the only player through, while Nicolai Budkov Kjaer<\/a> is 2-0 in Blue Group. Last year’s finalist Learner Tien<\/a> will look to disrupt the Norwegian’s rhythm when they face off in the final match of the day, following close friends Martin Landaluce<\/a> and Rafael Jodar<\/a>‘s first tour-level meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nishesh Basavareddy<\/a> opens play in the Red Group against Justin Engel<\/a> and Blockx faces Dino Prizmic<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n View Day 3 schedule here<\/a>\u00a0| View Qualification Scenarios here<\/a><\/p>\n [1] Learner Tien<\/a> (USA) vs [5] Nicolai Budkov Kjaer<\/a> (NOR) [second match from 7 p.m.] Last year\u2019s finalist knows what it takes to win in Jeddah and faces a stern test against Budkov Kjaer, who has overwhelmed opponents with his baseline power and consistency. The 19-year-old, owner of a Tour-leading four Challenger titles this season, will aim to complete a perfect 3-0 group sweep and become the first Norwegian to reach the semi-finals in tournament history.<\/p>\n [4] Martin Landaluce<\/a> (ESP) vs [7] Rafael Jodar<\/a> (ESP) [not before 7 p.m.] Landaluce has struggled to impose his aggressive style thus far and is 0-2 and could be tested by Jodar\u2019s high-risk, high-reward game. Jodar saved four match points for the biggest win of his career against Tien earlier in the week, but also leaked 34 unforced errors in defeat to Budkov Kjaer \u2014 a flaw he must rein in a match primed for tension and drama.<\/p>\n \n[6] Nishesh Basavareddy<\/a> (USA) vs [8] Justin Engel<\/a> (GER) [not before 2 p.m.] You May Also Like: Basavareddy discusses ‘huge’ Cervara partnership<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the 18-year-old Engel, the youngest player in the field, is vying for his first win in his debut appearance. The German has suffered a pair of four-set defeats, but has shown plenty of firepower from the baseline, a trait he will look to use against Basavareddy. In June, Engel became the second-youngest player since 1990 to win a tour-level match (excluding Davis Cup) on all three surfaces: hard, clay and grass. Only Rafael Nadal<\/a> accomplished the feat at a younger age. He then became the youngest ATP Challenger champion of 2025 with his October triumph in Hamburg.<\/p>\n [2] Alexander Blockx<\/a> (BEL) vs [3] Dino Prizmic<\/a> (CRO) [second match from 2 p.m.] The 20-year-old is the first Belgian to reach the semi-finals in the tournament\u2019s eight-year history, but his attention will first be on avenging his February loss to Prizmic, who beat Blockx 6-3, 6-2 at an indoor-hard ATP Challenger event in Lugano. Prizmic earned his debut win Thursday against Engel to improve to 1-1 in round-robin action.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Next Gen ATP Finals Day 3 Preview: Tien vs. Budkov Kjaer caps thrilling RR finale in Jeddah Spaniards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-357548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Budkov Kjaer has been untouchable so far, leading the Blue Group at 2-0, but Tien believes he can halt the Norwegian\u2019s charge. The World No. 28 and lone Top 100 player in the field, Tien has yet to hit top form \u2014 squandering four match points in an error-filled loss to Jodar \u2014 though he showed signs of resurgence in a four-set comeback win over Landaluce.<\/p>\n
Childhood friends Landaluce and Jodar<\/a> will set aside familiarity for an anticipated clash, with both debutants needing victory to keep their semi-final hopes alive. The Madrid natives have competed together since they were nine, but only one will have the possibility to extend his 2025 season.<\/p>\n
Competing in Jeddah for the second consecutive year, Basavareddy is aiming to improve upon last year\u2019s 1-2 match record and qualify for the semi-finals. The American, who is accompanied in Jeddah by new coach Gilles Cervara<\/a>, will look to bounce back from his three-set defeat to Blockx. The 20-year-old is 1-1 this week.<\/p>\n
Blockx has showcased his clutch instincts this week, building a 2-0 record in Red Group highlighted by two narrow tie-break wins on Thursday against Basavareddy. The 20-year-old dramatically saved three set points in the second-set tie-break alone. Showcasing his hefty serve and raw firepower from the baseline, Blockx has saved 12 of the 13 break points he\u2019s faced across two matches, according to Infosys ATP Stats.<\/p>\n