Former Wimbledon Junior champion Gianluigi Quinzi booked the eighth spot for the inaugural ATP Next Gen Finals to be held in Milan from 7th to 11th November at the Fiera Milano. Quinzi came back from two sets down to beat Filippo Baldi 3-4 3-4 4-2 4-2 4-2 in the final of the qualifying tournament in Milan. Quinzi and Baldi were teammates when Italy won the Davis Cup Junior title in 2012.
In the first set Baldi earned three set points at 6-3 in the tie-break. Quinzi saved the first two chances but Baldi closed it out on his third set point.
Baldi led by 4-0 in the tie-break of the second set but Quinzi bounced back by winning six consecutive points to take a 6-4 lead earning two set points. Baldi rallied by winning the final four points to take a 2-0 set lead. Quinzi got an immediate break in both the third and fourth games to force the match to the decisive fifth set. Quinzi rallied from 15-40 down on Baldi’s serve at 1-1 to take the decisive break in the third game of the fifth set to seal the win.
“We gave everything from the start of the match. I showed that I am competitive again. I am looking forward to playing at the Next Gen Finals in Milano against some players i managed to beat when I was in the Under 18 category. It will be an emotional feeling to play in the ATP Next Gen Finals”, said a delighted Quinzi.
Quinzi, a former world junior number 1 player, beat South Korean Hyeon Chung in the final of the 2013 Wimbledon Junior final. Quinzi and Chung will renew their rivalry at the Milano Fiera during the ATP Next Gen Finals this week, as they have been drawn in the same round robin Group A togehther with Denis Shapovalov and Andrey Rublev. The Group B will feature Borna Coric, Jared Donaldson, Karen Khachanov and Danil Medvedev will fight for the two semifinal spots in the Group B.
Danil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov will have have the honour the inaugural match on Tuesday afternoon. Canadian rising star Denis Shapovalov will take on Hyeon Chung in the second match of the afternoon program. The evening session will start with the match between Borna Coric and Jared Donaldson followed by the second round robin match between Hyeon Chung and Gianluigi Quinzi.
