Next Gen ATP Finals Prediction: Learner Tien vs Rafael Jodar
11:00 AM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Learner Tien -400 / Rafael Jodar +275
Tournament details
Tournament name: Next Gen ATP FinalsDraw: 8-player field
Surface: Indoor hard
Total prize money: $2,101,250
Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Learner Tien vs Rafael Jodar Preview
Learner Tien is making his second appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals. Last year, Tien finished with a 2-1 group stage record to qualify for the semifinals, where he beat his good friend Alex Michelsen to make the final. Despite taking the first set against Joao Fonseca, Tien fell in four to the Brazilian wunderkind.
Tien will be determined to add his name to the shortlist of former champions of this event and some of whom have gone on to achieve great things on the ATP Tour. Tien can be proud of his achievements this year in his first full season on the ATP Tour, breaking a handful of American tennis records, and sitting at a career-high ranking of World No. 30. He is the sole top 100 player competing in this tournament this week.
Rafael Jodar will be making his debut appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals after a sensational end to the season. Jodar started the year ranked outside the top 900, but now sits 168th in the rankings after hitting a purple patch between mid-August and the start of November. He won three Challenger titles in that time, and joined Carlos Alcaraz and Nicolas Almagro as the only Spanish teenagers to win as many as three titles at that level. Jodar has won 11 of his past 12 matches indoors and has quickly grown into one of the all-court players in the sport.
Learner Tien vs Rafael Jodar Head-To-Head
Tien and Jodar have never met at any level before this.
Learner Tien vs Rafael Jodar Prediction
Tien is considered the tournament favorite. He enters this event as the only top 100 player in the draw. And he is undoubtedly the most experienced and craftiest of the eight players in Jeddah. But this is far from a walkover for the American lefty who faces one of the best Spanish prospects in Jodar, who has lost just once in his last 12 indoor matches. Still, Tien’s pace off both wings and vastly superior shot selection are unlikely to be matched.