ATP Next Gen Finals: Interactive timeline of Jaume Munar's steep rise from being World No 343 just a year ago

How Jaume Munar qualified

Along with fellow Next Gen player Stefanos Tsitsipas, Munar played in the most tournaments — 29 — among the Next Gen players. This helped him accumulate points despite not making deep runs in major tournaments. He made it to the second round at Roland Garros and followed it up with back-to-back titles on the Challenger Tour. In the run up to the US Open, Munar reached the semi-finals at Kitzbuhel and the third round at the Winston-Salem Open. At Flushing Meadows, he was ousted in the second round by Diego Schwartzman. Munar nearly didn’t make it to the top eight in the Race to Milan rankings after a couple of first-round exits after the US Open, but a quarter-final appearance at Brest ensured he qualified for the Next Gen Finals.

Munar’s 2018 in 280 characters

Munar’s rank on 30 October, 2017: 343

Munar’s current rank: 76

Biggest scalp of the season

At Roland Garros, Munar lost to Novak Djokovic in the second round, but not before causing an upset in the first round. Playing idol and compatriot David Ferrer, Munar beat Ferrer in an epic five-setter.

One thing you didn’t know about Munar

Munar trains at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Spain and the World No 2 has kept a keen eye on the 21-year-old’s career personally attending some of Munar’s matches. Tomeu Salva, one of Nadal’s closest friends also trains Munar.

Why is Munar the Next Gen?

If someone of Rafael Nadal’s stature takes an interest in Munar’s career, you know that there is talent and potential in the youngster. Munar is also the youngest Spaniard in the top-100. Moreover, like his mentor, Munar also prefers the clay courts and his upset of Ferrer at Roland Garros shows the potential in Munar.