Match Preview
Day 2 Preview: Budkov Kjaer & Jodar seek SF spots in Jeddah
Blockx meets Basavareddy, Tien faces Landaluce, Prizmic takes on Engel
December 17, 2025
ATP Tour
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and Rafael Jodar meet at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF on Thursday.
By ATP Staff
High stakes define Day 2 at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah, where players are vying to strengthen their positioning in Red and Blue Group.
Thursday’s matches carry significant implications, with last year’s finalist Learner Tien aiming to bounce back and avoid slipping to 0-2 in Blue Group after relinquishing four match points in a five-set defeat 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, who is also competing in Jeddah for a second consecutive year, made a winning start on Wednesday and will now look to follow that against second seed Alexander Blockx in Red Group. Debutants Dino Prizmic and Justin Engel will seek their first win at the 20-and-under event.
View Day 2 Schedule here | View Qualification Scenarios here
[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 spots in the semi-finals when they face off on Thursday. The two have been in red-hot form on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2025, winning seven titles between them and they looked sharp in their Jeddah openers.
Jodar upset Top 30 star Tien to record his first Top 100 win and has fond memories against Budkov Kjaer, having beaten the Norwegian in the US Open boys’ singles final in 2024. Budkov Kjaer produced an aggressive four-set display against Landaluce to move to 1-0 in round-robin play.
[1] Learner Tien (USA) vs [4] Martin Landaluce (ESP) [following Budkov Kjaer-Jodar]
The strong favourite 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 maiden ATP Tour title in the final week of the regular season in Metz in but had his five-match winning streak ended on Day 1 in Jeddah.
Landaluce will need to earn the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Ranking if he is to stay alive at the 20-and-under event. Earlier this season, the 19-year-old captured his second ATP Challenger Tour title and earned a win at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati. Can the Spaniard clinch another big victory on Thursday?
[2] Alexander Blockx (BEL) vs [6] Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) [not before 3 p.m.]
This clash of 20-year-olds pits Blockx’s booming serve against Basavareddy’s sharp return skills. Blockx blasted 17 aces and claimed 85 per cent of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, in his opening win over Engel. Meanwhile, Basavareddy displayed his aggression on second-serve returns, claiming 57 per cent of such points against Prizmic.
With the First-to-4 format, there is little room for error in this tug-of-war of serve and returning, with a sole lead of Red Group up for grabs. Basavareddy, who recently welcomed coach Gilles Cervara to his team, is competing in Jeddah for the second consecutive year, 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 round-robin action is despite Prizmic and Engel’s defeats on opening day, they remain in contention, though with ground to make up. 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 additional finals.
Engel this season became the second-youngest player since 1990 to win a tour-level match (excluding Davis Cup) on all three surfaces: hard, clay and grass. Only Rafael Nadal accomplished the feat at a younger age. The 18-year-old showcased the forehand firepower he is capable of producing in his opening match against Blockx, and now he aims at rebounding and claiming his debut win. Blockx spoke highly of Engel after the four-set match, calling the youngest competitor in the field “an unbelievable player”.
