Brandon Nakashima wins again at ATP Next Gen Finals

Brandon Nakashima claimed his second successive victory at the NextGen finals with a comfortable win over Jiri Lehecka in Milan.

Nakashima, the world number 49, won 4-1, 4-3 (2), 4-2, a far more straightforward score line in comparison to his opening match against Matteo Arnaldi.

The American took full advantage of the new set format, with games going up to four instead of six, as he won the first set after just 17 minutes.

He then raced into a 3-1 lead before being pegged back by Lehecka, with the 20-year-old Czech forcing a breaker. Nevertheless, Nakashima prevailed before wrapping up the third set to win after just one hour and 29 minutes.

He hit 21 winners and seven aces during the match and alluded to his hard-fought victory against Arnaldi in terms of putting him at ease and gaining an understanding of how the court was operating.

”I think yesterday helped me a lot today” said Nakashima in his on-court interview.

”I was a lot more used to the conditions out there. Playing a long match out there, extra time getting used to the court and the crowd out here. I thought today I played really well and I’m going to try to keep it going.”

Despite victory in his first two matches, Brandon Nakashima has not yet qualified from the Green Group. He will take on Francesco Passaro in his final round robin match on Thursday.

Passaro defeated Arnaldi in the battle of the Italians in the other group match, saving three match points in the process. He won the longest Next Gen finals match in history 4-3 (7) 2-4 3-4 (4) 4-3 (4) 4-3 (8) after two hours and 38 minutes in front of a packed home crowd.

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