Novak Djokovic withdraws from ATP Cup amid Australian Open uncertainty
World number one Novak Djokovic withdraws from Serbia’s ATP Cup team in Sydney amid uncertainty over his participation at the Australian Open.
World number one Novak Djokovic withdraws from Serbia’s ATP Cup team in Sydney amid uncertainty over his participation at the Australian Open.
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France has become a late addition to the 16-country 2022 ATP Cup, replacing Austria in Group B following the withdrawals of Dominic Thiem and Dennis Novak. World No. 35 Ugo Humbert will lead the Frenchmen as he is joined by Arthur Rinderknech, Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Fabrice Martin in Sydney.
It was also announced Wednesday that World No.1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP Cup. Serbia remains in the competition and will be led by World No. 33 Dusan Lajovic.
Russia’s Andrey Rublev, Aslan Karatsev and Evgeny Donskoy have pulled out, and Evgeny Karlovskiy will join the team. Team USA’s Austin Krajicek has also withdrawn, and will not be replaced at this time.
The ATP Cup will begin on Saturday 1 January at 10 a.m. at both Ken Rosewall Arena and Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.
Updated 2022 ATP Cup Rosters (as of 29 December)
|
Serbia |
Great Britain Cameron Norrie Daniel Evans Liam Broady (Captain) Joe Salisbury Jamie Murray |
| Russia Daniil Medvedev Roman Safiullin Evgeny Karlovskiy Captain: Gilles Cervara |
Argentina Diego Schwartzman Federico Delbonis Federico Coria Maximo Gonzalez Andres Molteni Captain: Alejandro Fabbri |
| Germany Alexander Zverev Jan-Lennard Struff Yannick Hanfmann Kevin Krawietz Tim Puetz Captain: Michael Kohlmann |
Chile Cristian Garin Alejandro Tabilo Tomas Barrios Vera Captain: Jorge Aguilar |
| Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas Michail Pervolarakis Petros Tsitsipas Markos Kalovelonis Aristotelis Thanos Captain: Apostolos Tsitsipas |
Spain Roberto Bautista Agut Pablo Carreno Busta Albert Ramos-Vinolas Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Pedro Martinez Captain: Daniel Gimeno-Traver |
|
Italy |
Georgia Nikoloz Basilashvili Aleksandre Metreveli Aleksandre Bakshi Zura Tkemaladze Saba Purtseladze Captain: David Kvernadze |
| Norway Casper Ruud Viktor Durasovic Lukas Hellum-Lilleengen Leyton Rivera Andreja Petrovic Captain: Christian Ruud |
United States Taylor Fritz John Isner Brandon Nakashima Rajeev Ram Captain: Michael Russell |
| Poland Hubert Hurkacz Kamil Majchrzak Kacper Zuk Jan Zielinski Szymon Walkow Captain: Marcin Matkowski |
Australia (WC) |
| Canada Felix Auger-Aliassime (Captain) Denis Shapovalov Brayden Schnur Steven Diez |
France Ugo Humbert Arthur Rinderknech Edouard Roger-Vasselin Fabrice Martin Captain: Nicolas Copin |
With just three days to go before ATP Cup kicks off the 2022 ATP Tour season, Top 10 stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas honed their games on the practice courts at Sydney Olympic Park Wednesday.
Auger-Aliassime leads Canada in Group C, where the 21-year-old will face No. 1 singles clashes with Alexander Zverev, Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz.
In his first practise at this year’s event, Tsitsipas worked out under the watchful eye of his father and team captain Apostolos. The World No. 4 spearheads Greece in Group C and is scheduled to meet Hubert Hurkacz, Diego Schwartzman and Nikoloz Basilashvili in group play.
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev practised with his singles teammate Jan-Lennard Struff on an outer court under the gaze of team captain Michael Kohlmann. Zverev, who finished 2021 by winning his second Nitto ATP Finals title, will be determined to improve his disappointing 1-5 match record in the first two years of the tournament.
Struff has returned winning records in the first two editions of the event, boasting a 4-2 match tally, including wins over Auger-Aliassime in 2020 and Milos Raonic in 2021.
Top 10 Italians Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner practised together in cool to mild conditions in Sydney as they work on claiming revenge for their defeat in the 2021 final to Russia. The teams will meet in a blockbuster Group B showdown on the final day of group play on 6 January.
Running 1-9 January, ATP Cup will be staged in the first week of the 2022 ATP Tour season alongside ATP 250 events in Adelaide and Melbourne. The 2022 tournament will feature a 16-team field in four groups and be hosted across two venues in Sydney – Ken Rosewall Arena and the Qudos Bank Arena – both at Sydney Olympic Park. The four group winners will contest the knockout stage – to be played exclusively at Ken Rosewall Arena – from 7 January.
Nick Kyrgios has received a wild card into the Sydney Tennis Classic, which will be played at Sydney Olympic Park from 10-15 January.
The Australian, who is beginning his season at the Melbourne Summer Set, has not competed since the Laver Cup in September.
“I’ve been training at home in Canberra and here in Sydney and I feel good after an extended break from the game,” Kyrgios said. “I’m looking forward to the final hit-out before the AO, thanks to Tennis Australia for the opportunity to play.”
Kyrgios went 7-8 in 2021, reaching the third round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. The World No. 93 has captured one of his six ATP Tour titles on home soil, having triumphed in Brisbane in 2018.
Other players in the field at the Sydney ATP 250 include Alex de Minaur, Kei Nishikori, Cristian Garin, Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Dominic Thiem announced Tuesday that he has withdrawn from next month’s Australian Open.
The former World No. 3, who also pulled out of the ATP Cup earlier this month due to a non-Covid-19-related illness, has not played a tour-level match since June when he suffered a right wrist injury at the Mallorca Championships.
— Dominic Thiem (@ThiemDomi) December 28, 2021
“After the short holidays, my team and I have assessed all matters and we have decided to make some changes to my initial tournament schedule: I will start the season in South America at the Cordoba Open in Argentina, end of January, and therefore I will not play this year at the Australian Open in Melbourne,” Thiem wrote on Twitter.
The Austrian reached the Australian Open final in 2020, losing to Novak Djokovic in a five-set championship match. Last season, the 17-time tour-level titlist went 9-9, with his best coming at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he advanced to the semi-finals.