Alexander Blockx vs Nishesh Basavareddy Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Blockx aiming for Next Gen semis

The winner here won't guarantee a spot in the semi-finals, but it would go a long way to securing a place in the semi-finals after both players emerged triumphant in their opening Next Gen ATP Finals matches on Wednesday. Blockx weathered an early storm from Justin Engel - the youngest player in the field - to recover from dropping the first set to prevail in four, while Basavareddy snapped a four-match losing streak to take out third seed Dino Prizmic in four.

With both players confident and in good form, this is shaping as a close contest, which leans us to our first bet of Over 23.5 total games, which landed in all four matches yesterday. The nature of this abbreviated format means it's tough to maintain momentum, so straight sets matches are rare. Overall, I think Blockx is in slightly better form - he finished the year strongly by winning a big Challenger in Bratislava and is on the cusp of breaking into the world's top 100. I'm backing the Belgian to emerge victorious in four sets.

These two haven't played each other in a professional match, but they did meet in the Boys singles at the 2022 US Open, with Blockx registering a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory.

Out of all the players in the Jeddah field outside of Tien, Blockx came closest to finishing the year inside the top 100 and he played like it in his opening match.

The Belgian responded well from dropping the opening set against Engel, firing down 17 aces and dictating play with first-strike tennis behind his strong serving, where he also won 85 per cent of points behind his first delivery. Blockx completed a 3-4(7), 4-2, 4-2, 4-2 victory in his debut match at the Next Gen tournament.

The 20-year-old started the year outside the top 200, but almost cracked the top 100 during the season, peaking at No. 101 before settling at No. 116. Blockx won two Challenger titles in 2025 - including in Bratislava to end the season, beating two top 100 players in Raphael Collignon and Jan-Lennard Struff - while he also claimed a maiden Masters 1000 win in Cincinnati.

It was a strange year for Basavareddy, but after recently linking up with Daniil Medvedev's former coach Gilles Cervara, he looks primed to steady and make a move back up the rankings.

Basavareddy was impressive in his opening match against Prizmic, dominating baseline exchanges with his absolute money of a backhand to register a 4-2, 4-3(7), 3-4(3),4-2 win. The 20-year-old saved three set points in the second set tiebreak and bounced back from failing to serve out the match in the third, positioning himself strongly for a crack at the semi-finals.

The American began the year on fire by reaching his first ATP semi-final in Auckland and taking a set off Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, but faded as the year went on. However, with Cervara and a new physical conditioning coach now in his ranks, Basavareddy appears ready to take that next step in his career.