De Minaur wins again at Next Gen Finals

Milan, November 7: Alex de Minaur made it two wins from two Next Generation ATP Finals matches as he defeated Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday (November 6).

The Australian, the highest-ranked player at the event, secured a 4-1 4-3 (7-3) 1-4 4-0 victory to follow up on his opening Group A win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Having been made to work hard for his triumph in Milan, particularly during the second and third sets, the 2018 runner-up was pleased with his powers of recovery.

"This is what you expect in these conditions," said the world number 18, referencing the shorter format. "A match can turn quickly. I didn't play badly, he just played well in the important moments.

"I just had to regroup and stick to my game."

Casper Ruud, who lost his opener to Kecmanovic, inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Davidovich Fokina.

Davidovich Fokina took the first set and went the distance but came up short in a 3-4 (2-7) 4-3 (7-2) 4-2 3-4 (2-7) 4-1 loss to the Norwegian.

In Group B, Frances Tiafoe recovered from his defeat to Jannik Sinner by beating Ugo Humbert, who has now suffered back-to-back reverses.

The American boosted his qualification hopes with a 4-2 4-3 (7-5) 3-4 (4-7) 4-1 success, while the impressive Sinner thrashed Mikael Ymer 4-0 4-2 4-1.