Mensik, Fils in same group at Next Gen ATP Finals

Jakub Mensik and Arthur Fils have been grouped together at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the draw for the under-21 event released on Sunday.

Tennis betting sites have Fils marked as a +137 title favourite following his run to the final last year, while Mensik comes in at +400 after a breakout season.

Alongside Fils and Mensik in the Blue Group will be Learner Tien and Joao Fonseca, while the Red Group has Alex Michelsen, Shang Juncheng, Luca van Assche and Nishesh Basavareddy.

Fils is top seed of his group and holds by far the highest ranking at the event.

The Frenchman is No.20 in the world and has won three titles on the ATP Tour, while next best in the rankings is Michelsen at No.41.

However, Mensik has claimed four wins against top-10 players in 2024, while Fonseca upset Fils earlier in the season, meaning the 20-year-old will have his work cut out for him.

Fils opens his campaign against Fonseca on Wednesday, December 18, and is a -357.14 favourite at Bovada to prevail.

Mensik, meanwhile, is paying -303.03 to beat Tien in his first match of the tournament.

While no ranking points are on the line in Jeddah, winning the event bodes well for young players.

Past champions of the Next Gen ATP Finals include multi-Grand Slam winners Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

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