Day 2 Next Gen Preview: Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and Rafael Jodar explore SF locations in Jeddah | ATP Tour

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Day 2 preview: Budkov Kjaer and Jodar seek SF locations in Jeddah

Blockx meets Basavareddy, Tien takes on Landaluce, Prizmic takes on Engel

December 17, 2025

High numbers defined Day 2 at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah, where players battled to cement their place in the Red and Blue Group.

Thursday’s games have a big impact, with last year’s finalist Learner Tien aiming to bounce back and avoid a 0-2 skid in the Blue Group after dropping four match points in a five-set loss to Rafael Jodar. American Tien faces Martin Landaluce, while Blue Group Day 1 winners Jodar and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer meet.

Tien’s countryman Nishesh Basavareddy, also competing in Jeddah for the second consecutive year, started with a win on Wednesday and will look to follow that up against second seed Alexander Blockx in the Red Group. Freshmen Dino Prizmic and Justin Engel will be looking for their first wins in the 20-and-under event.

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[5] Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (NOR) vs [7] Rafael Jodar (ESP) [not before 7 p.m.]
Day 1 winners Budkov Kjaer and Jodar will aim to book their place in the semi-finals when they clash on Thursday. The pair have been in hot form on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2025, winning seven titles between them and looking sharp in their Jeddah opener.

Jodar upset Top 30 star Tien to record his first Top 100 win and has fond memories of facing Budkov Kjaer, beating the Norwegian in the 2024 US Open boys’ singles final. Budkov Kjaer produced an aggressive display against Landaluce to go 1-0 in the round-robin.

[1] Student Tien (USA) vs [4] Martin Landaluce (ESP) [following Budkov Kjaer-Jodar]Strong favorite for the title in Jeddah, World No. 28 Tien will try to bounce back from his defeat to Jodar when he plays Spaniard Landaluce. Tien won his first ATP Tour title in the final week of the regular season in Metz but his five-match winning streak ended on Day 1 in Jeddah.

Landaluce will need to achieve the biggest win of his career in the PIF ATP Ranking to stay alive in the 20-and-under event. Earlier this season, the 19-year-old captured his second ATP Challenger Tour title and won the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati. Can the Spanish get another big win on Thursday?

[2] Alexander Blockx (BEL) vs [6] Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) [not before 3 p.m.]
This clash of 20-year-olds pits the prosperity of Blockx against the sharp comeback skills of Basavareddy. Blockx fired 17 aces and claimed 85 percent of his first points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, in his opening win over Engel. Meanwhile, Basavareddy showed his aggressiveness in the second round, claiming 57 percent of such points against Prizmic.

With a First to 4 format, there is little room for error in this hard-fought back-and-forth, with one Red Group lead up for grabs. Basavareddy, who recently welcomed coach Gilles Cervara to his team, is competing in Jeddah for the second year in a row, while Blockx is enjoying his first trip to the 20 and under event. Thursday will mark the first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between Blockx and Basavareddy.

[3] Dino Prizmic (CRO) vs [8] Justin Engel (GER) [2 p.m.]
The beauty of the round-robin action is that despite losing to Prizmic and Engel on the opening day, they remain in contention, although there is ground to make. Prizmic, 20, defeated Engel 6-2, 6-2 at this year’s ATP Challenger clay court event in San Marino, where the Croatian was a finalist. Prizmic won two ATP Challenger titles this year and reached three other finals.

Engel this season became the second youngest player since 1990 to win a tour-level match (except Davis Cup) on all three surfaces: hard, clay and grass. Only Rafael Nadal accomplished the feat at such a young age. The 18-year-old showed his firepower in his first match against Blockx, and now he is aiming to repeat his quest for his first victory. Blockx spoke highly of Engel after the four-set match, calling the youngest competitor in the field an “unbelievable player”.