Spirograph & dancing in kitchens – Advent Answers with Judy Murray
Tennis coach Judy Murray faces our Christmas questions in day 17 of BBC Sport Scotland’s Advent Answers series.
Tennis coach Judy Murray faces our Christmas questions in day 17 of BBC Sport Scotland’s Advent Answers series.
The Australian Open will start on 8 February next year after being pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The ATP has issued a five-week schedule for the launch of the 2021 Challenger Tour. Resuming on Monday 18 January, a total of 10 tournaments in four countries will highlight the first section of the new season.
It all starts with a Challenger 125 event in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, as the city celebrates its 31st consecutive year on the Challenger Tour. Turkey will host three consecutive tournaments to open the season, as the tour swings from the hard courts of Istanbul to the clay of the seaside town of Antalya. The week of 25 January will feature the first of back-to-back Challenger events in Antalya, along with an indoor hard-court stop in Quimper, France.
The tournament in Quimper is followed by two additional French indoor events to kick off the February slate, including the prestigious 125-level tournament in Orleans and the 28th edition of Cherbourg. Hard-court events in Biella, Italy and Potchefstroom, South Africa join Cherbourg in the week of 8 February.
The picturesque mountain town of Biella will host consecutive tournaments, with a 125-level event slated for the following week. Located in the Italian Alps, the Piedmont region is also the new home of the Nitto ATP Finals in 2021, in nearby Turin. A second straight hard-court event in Potchefstroom will accompany Biella the week of 15 February.
A further update on the intended schedule beyond the first five weeks will be provided in due course.
SCHEDULE & DRAW SIZES
As part of a number of measures related to COVID-19, tournaments at the Challenger level will span eight days and feature 32-player singles and 16-player qualifying draws in 2021.
The ATP has today announced an update to the 2021 ATP Tour calendar, outlining a revised schedule for the first seven weeks of the season as tennis continues to navigate its return during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Confirmed details of weeks 8-13 will be announced separately, while all subsequent sections of the 2021 calendar, beginning with the Spring clay-court season from week 14, remain unchanged at this time, with all tournaments planned to take place as originally scheduled.
The opening week of the season will kick off with the ATP 250 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, alongside a new single-year ATP 250 license on hard court in Antalya, Turkey.
Australian Open men’s qualifying will take place from 10-13 January in Doha, and the allocated dates of 15-31 January will then allow for travel and a 14-day quarantine period for all players and support staff travelling to Melbourne, in accordance with requirements of Australian public health and immigration authorities. The controlled environment quarantine period will enable players to prepare ahead of a 12-team ATP Cup in Melbourne, played alongside the relocated Adelaide International, as well as an additional ATP 250 tournament, all held in Melbourne.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, will follow from 8-21 February.
| Dates | Location | Tournament |
| 5-13 Jan. | Delray Beach | Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com |
| 5-13 Jan. | Antalya | Antalya Open |
| 10-13 Jan. | Doha | Australian Open Qualifying |
| 31 Jan. – 6 Feb |
Melbourne | Melbourne 1 (Adelaide Relocation) |
| 31 Jan – 6 Feb |
Melbourne | Melbourne 2 |
| 1-5 Feb. | Melbourne | ATP Cup |
| 8-21 Feb. | Melbourne | Australian Open |
ATP 250 events confirmed as not taking place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic include the ASB Classic (Auckland) and the New York Open, while the Tata Maharashtra Open (Pune) is unable to stage in its scheduled February week.
The Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event, will not take place as originally scheduled, and alternative dates in the calendar will be assessed for it to potentially take place later in the year.
Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “The reconfigured calendar for the start of the 2021 season represents a huge collaborative effort across tennis, under challenging circumstances. Together with the support of our tournament and player members, partners, and Tennis Australia, we have been able to adapt and create an exciting start to the season. Health and safety will continue to be paramount as we navigate the challenges ahead, and I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment to finding solutions to launch our 2021 season.”
The ATP will continue to assess opportunities for additional single-year licenses to be scheduled in the first quarter of 2021 and will communicate any additions once confirmed.
The ATP Challenger Tour season will begin the week of January 18, following the completion of Australian Open qualifying.
The 2020 ATP Coach of the Year award goes to the coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance during the year. This year’s nominees are Gilles Cervara, Juan Ignacio Chela, Nicolas Massu, Riccardo Piatti and Fernando Vicente. The winner, as selected by fellow ATP coach members, will be announced later this month.
Learn more about all the nominated coaches and their seasons as they speak exclusively to ATPTour.com.
Gilles Cervara
Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Cervara: “This question is difficult, because there are so many points to explain why our partnership is a success. I would say the main point is the good connection we have together. This connection is a mix between many things: I think I understand Daniil, the way he thinks, the way he works. I think our connection is a good one to make him be at his optimal level all the time. To find the best way he can work, the best way he can play, and to put him in the best conditions to prove his quality – I think that’s a part of my coaching, to make him succeed. I think that’s the main point, the relationship and the work… giving him the space that he needs to work and to play at his best.”
Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Cervara: “I will say maybe to finish the year like this [winning the Nitto ATP Finals]. Because when you finish with victories like this, it gives you confidence to start the new season with a lot of hope and confidence. Also, it gives us confidence in the work that we did. Even if sometimes you don’t win for a few weeks, you still have to work and still believe in the work you do. So then when you win, you realize that the work you did, even in difficult moments, means that you were going in a good direction. That’s what makes me the most pleased this year.”
Juan Ignacio Chela
Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Chela: “Diego and I have a great relationship both on and off the tennis court. We are both professionals, and we know how to differentiate between the time to work and the time to relax. We both have similar personalities, and we like to decompress from the hard situations of the tour and the competition. When it comes to work, we like to have clear objectives and work hard to achieve them.”
Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Chela: “This year, despite all the difficulties, we are very happy because we have accomplished many goals and new achievements. The highlights and the ones we worked the hardest for were reaching the Top 10, reaching the first ATP Masters 1000 final [in Rome] and the semi-finals at Roland Garros.”
Nicolas Massu
Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Massu: “I think that we understand each other very well on both a personal and professional level. We have great communication, a lot of respect and a willingness to improve every day. I’m about to celebrate two years working with Dominic, and I think the results have been incredible. There is a lot of motivation from both parties. The way we work, we’re both trying to bring our 100% every day.
“We’re from different cultures; I’m South American, he’s European. But I think that strengthens us, because we have different personalities but share the same passion for being our best every day. We don’t have a big age difference either, and that helps us have a great energy on and off the tennis court.
“Also, I retired seven years ago from tennis, and that’s not too long ago. So I believe that a lot of the things I experienced as a tennis player, I can pass on to him. On a personal level I think we’re getting to know each other more and building up trust every day.”
Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Massu: Despite the few tournaments that could be played this year, there are two very important things for me about him in 2020. One: in the few tournaments that he played, he was very consistent and played with a high level of tennis. That’s a big step for a tennis player, to be consistent tournament after tournament.
And obviously, the three most important tournaments were the final of the Australian Open, winning the US Open, and the final of ATP Finals. But of course, winning the US Open, winning his first Grand Slam, and the way that he did it – I think that’s the biggest achievement of 2020. And after that, the two big finals.
Riccardo Piatti
Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Piatti: “For me, it’s really important to educate the player more than coaching him. With all my players I’ve always tried to deal with their existing talent. These players are all very good, what we need to do, or at least what I like to do, is to give them order, to bring out what is already in them.
“Jannik was very young when he came to me and he still had to learn a lot from every point of view. But the more they improve the more they need someone who’s there to educate them to this game, and I think this is what I’m doing with him.”
Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Piatti: “Well, 2020 has been a very difficult year for everyone, but I would say Paris. Roland Garros was very good despite the temperature, and of course when he won Sofia – although for me the important moments are the ones when there is a difficulty to overcome. In New York, he started cramping against [Karen] Khachanov but managed to finish the match even if he lost it. In Rome, he played two very important matches against [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and [Grigor] Dimitrov. Normally the matches he loses are the ones he learns the most from.”
Fernando Vicente
Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Vicente: “Honestly, we’ve been working together for four years now and both the way we work together and the way we coexist is really great. We know how to respect each other’s spaces off the court. And in addition to that, I think that we’re both very passionate about tennis, so we can spend lots of hours on the court working to improve many aspects of his game.
“I would say Andrey has made me a better coach. I’ve learned and continue to learn a lot with him. I think that on my end, he understands what I’m trying to impart on him and there’s a very good personal connection, too. If not, it would be impossible to stay together so long.
“We’ve been through very tough moments and now we’ve had a great year. The key is to keep working with passion and the work will bear fruit. So we have to keep going and not be satisfied, there is a lot to improve if we want to stay at this level!”
Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Vicente: “What I’ve been most pleased to see was Andrey’s steady mentality during the weeks where our objective was to reach the Nitto ATP Finals. Those were weeks with so much tension, and he managed to compete at a very high level. Of course, I’m pleased with almost everything. It was his best year in terms of ranking, he won the five finals he played and in general his entire game improved a lot. I would give him an ‘outstanding’ on the season.
“During the time that we couldn’t compete, Andrey worked like an animal and I was really pleased about that. I liked to see that look in his eye during his practices, and see that he wanted to become a better player in the future. That motivates me a lot!”
Andy Murray and Heather Watson are among the players who will compete in the Battle of the Brits event at Roehampton from 20-23 December.
Yesterday we began a two-part story on the best stats of 2020, looking at which players excelled this year by surface, against certain opponents and in pressure situations.
Now we’ll look at more interesting stats from the season, including Jannik Sinner’s sophomore leap, the season’s longest match and more.
Top Movers For Year-End Top 50 Finishers
| Player | Ranking Jump | Year-End 2019 vs. 2020 |
| 1) Jannik Sinner | +41 | No. 78 to No. 37* |
| 2) Casper Ruud | +27 | No. 54 to No. 27 |
| Ugo Humbert | +27 | No. 57 to No. 30* |
| 4) Kyle Edmund | +21 | No. 69 to No. 48 |
| 5) Lorenzo Sonego | +19 | No. 52 to No. 33 |
| Tennys Sandgren | +19 | No. 68 to No. 49 |
*Career-High
Sinner stepped into the spotlight in 2019 with a series of impressive wins throughout the year, but he made his biggest splash at the Next Gen ATP Finals, where he triumphed as a wild card.
This year, the Italian showed no interest in a “sophomore slump”. Sinner consistently continued his ascent, reaching a career-high No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, where he finished the year. He lifted his first ATP Tour trophy in Sofia.
Top Movers For Year-End Top 100 Finishers
| Player | Ranking Jump | Year-End 2019 vs. 2020 |
| 1) Vasek Pospisil | +89 | No. 150 to No. 61 |
| 2) Pedro Martinez | +86 | No. 171 to No. 85 |
| 3) Yannick Hanfmann | +75 | No. 174 to No. 99 |
| 4) Attila Balazs | +42 | No. 134 to No. 92 |
| 5) Jiri Vesely | +38 | No. 106 to No. 68 |
| Emil Ruusuvuori | +38 | No. 124 to No. 86 |
Vasek Pospisil, whose career-high FedEx ATP Ranking is No. 25, underwent back surgery in January 2019. The Canadian came back in a big way this year, climbing 89 spots to reach a year-end No. 61.
2020 Fast Facts
– The longest ATP Tour match of the season was Thiago Seyboth Wild’s 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 triumph against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Rio de Janeiro, which lasted three hours and 50 minutes. There were 19 ATP Tour matches that lasted more than three hours this year.
– There were four all tie-break matches in 2020. In one of those matches, Nick Kyrgios’ 7-6(7), 6-7(3), 7-6(5) victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP Cup, there were no service breaks.
– Four qualifiers made an ATP Tour final in 2020, but none of them lifted the trophy. Those players were Corentin Moutet (Doha, l. to Rublev), Lloyd Harris (Adelaide, l. to Rublev), Gianluca Mager (Rio de Janeiro, l. to Garin) and Yannick Hanfmann (Kitzbuhel, l. to Kecmanovic).
– There were two lucky loser finalists this year: Pedro Sousa at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires (l. to Ruud) and Lorenzo Sonego at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna (l. to Rublev).
– Two of 19 tour-level champions came from outside the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings this year: World No. 182 Seyboth Wild in Santiago and World No. 107 Jiri Vesely in Pune.
2020 First-Time Winners
| Player | Age | Tournament |
| Ugo Humbert | 21 | Auckland |
| Casper Ruud | 21 | Buenos Aires |
| Thiago Seyboth Wild | 19 | Santiago |
| Miomir Kecmanovic | 21 | Kitzbühel |
| John Millman | 31 | Nur-Sultan |
| Jannik Sinner | 19 | Sofia |
There were only six first-time winners in this year’s shortened season, as play was suspended for more than five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five of the six first-time champions were 21-and-under. John Millman, a 31-year-old Aussie, earned ATP Tour glory at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
Titles Won Without Losing A Set
| Player | Sets Won | Tournament |
| Andrey Rublev | 8 | Doha |
| Gael Monfils | 10 | Rotterdam |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 8 | Marseille |
| Rafael Nadal | 10 | Acapulco |
| Rafael Nadal | 21 | Roland Garros |
| Andrey Rublev | 10 | Vienna |
Six of this year’s champions triumphed without losing a set, and all of them were Top 10 players at the time. Nadal (Acapulco, Roland Garros) and Rublev (Doha, Vienna) both accomplished the feat twice.
Infosys ATP Stats – 2020 Leaders (at least 10 matches)
| Stat | Category Leader | Percentage |
| Service Games Won | Milos Raonic | 93.9% |
| Break Points Saved | John Isner | 77.2% |
| Return Games Won | Diego Schwartzman | 34.9% |
| Break Points Converted | Rafael Nadal | 49.3% |
Although the 2020 season was shortened due to COVID-19, there were no surprises in the season’s statistical leaders. Diego Schwartzman, who cracked the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time this year, led the ATP Tour in return games won at 34.9 per cent.
The Argentine has long tussled with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in this category — they are also the top three players in career return games won. But Schwartzman had the best returning season of his career, even topping his 2017 performance. That year he topped the Tour by winning 34.8 per cent of his return games.
Rapid Fire
Most Aces in Best-of-3 Match: 36, Reilly Opelka (l. to Cuevas, Adelaide R1)
Most Aces in Best-of-5 Match: 52, John Isner (l. to Johnson, US Open R1)
Longest Winning Streak: 26, Novak Djokovic
Youngest Final: Stefanos Tsitsipas (21) def. Felix Auger-Aliassime (19) in Marseille
Oldest Final: Rafael Nadal (34) def. Novak Djokovic (33) at Roland Garros
Read All Best Of 2020 Stories
– Research contributed by Greg Sharko
The ATP Tour season had plenty of thrilling storylines, from Novak Djokovic earning a record-tying sixth year-end No. 1 finish in the FedEx ATP Rankings to Andrey Rublev stepping into the spotlight.
In the first of a two-part story, ATPTour.com looks at the stats to remember from 2020.
ATP Tour Match Wins Leaders
| Player | 2020 W/L Record | 2020 Titles |
| 1) Novak Djokovic | 41-5 | 4 |
| Andrey Rublev | 41-10 | 5 |
| 3) Stefanos Tsitsipas | 29-14 | 1 |
| 4) Daniil Medvedev | 28-10 | 2 |
| Alexander Zverev | 28-11 | 2 |
It is no shock to see Djokovic atop the 2020 match wins leaderboard (41-5), but perhaps it is surprising to see Rublev right alongside him. The Russian had the best season of his career, tying Djokovic with 41 tour-level victories. The year-end World No. 8 went 19-2 at ATP 500s this year, claiming three of his ATP Tour-leading five titles at that level. Rublev began the season with two crowns at tour-level.
2020 Hard Court Leaders
| Player | 2020 W/L Record (Hard) | 2020 Titles (Hard) |
| 1) Andrey Rublev | 31-8 | 4 |
| 2) Novak Djokovic | 30-4 | 3 |
| 3) Daniil Medvedev | 28-8 | 2 |
| 4) Alexander Zverev | 25-10 | 2 |
| 5) Milos Raonic | 22-8 | 0 |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 22-16 | 0 |
Rublev won as many hard-court titles (4) as Djokovic claimed on all surfaces this year (4). The Russian earned a Tour-leading 31 hard-court victories. Even so, Djokovic was once again ruthless on hard courts in 2020, winning three of his four titles on the surface. Three of the Serbian’s hard-court losses came in his final two tournaments of the season (Vienna, London). The World No. 1’s winning percentage on hard (88.2%) was more than eight points better than the next player on the list, Gael Monfils (16-4, 80%).
2020 Clay Court Leaders
| Player | 2020 W/L Record (Clay) | 2020 Titles (Clay) |
| 1) Casper Ruud | 17-6 | 1 |
| 2) Cristian Garin | 15-4 | 2 |
| Diego Schwartzman | 15-4 | 0 |
| 4) Novak Djokovic | 11-1 | 1 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 11-3 | 0 |
| Laslo Djere | 11-4 | 1 |
Casper Ruud topped the clay match wins leaderboard, claiming his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While Rafael Nadal didn’t make the list, he lifted his 13th Coupe des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros, and improved his career record on the surface to 445-40. The active player with the second-most tour-level victories on clay is Fernando Verdasco with 230.
2020 Indoors Leaders
| Player | 2020 W/L Record (Indoors) | 2020 Titles (Indoors) |
| 1) Andrey Rublev | 14-4 | 2 |
| Daniil Medvedev | 14-4 | 2 |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 14-8 | 0 |
| 4) Alexander Zverev | 13-3 | 2 |
| 5) Vasek Pospisil | 12-6 | 0 |
Felix Auger-Aliassime was unable to claim his first tour-level trophy in 2020, but he excelled indoors, where he made all three of his finals this year (Rotterdam, Marseille, Cologne-1). The Canadian #NextGenATP star was tied for the ATP Tour-lead with 14 indoor victories this year (14-8), matching Top 10 stalwarts Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, both of whom were 14-4.
Tie-Break Wins
| Player | Tie-Break Wins |
| 1) Dominic Thiem | 17-11 |
| 2) Novak Djokovic | 15-2 |
| John Isner | 15-9 |
| 4) Ugo Humbert | 14-6 |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | 14-9 |
Dominic Thiem played 28 tie-breaks this year in 34 tour-level matches. Four of his tie-break victories (17-11 overall) came at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he reached the championship match for the second consecutive year. One of those tie-breaks came in the final set of his London semi-final against Djokovic, who entered the decider with an impressive 15-1 record in tie-breaks this season.
Top 10 Wins
| Player | Top 10 Wins |
| 1) Novak Djokovic | 10-3 |
| 2) Dominic Thiem | 8-4 |
| 3) Daniil Medvedev | 7-2 |
| 4) Andrey Rublev | 4-5 |
| T5) Denis Shapovalov | 3-2 |
| Jannik Sinner | 3-4 |
| Rafael Nadal | 3-5 |
| Alexander Zverev | 3-6 |
Throughout the year, Thiem excelled against the best players in the world, earning an 8-4 record against the Top 10. This continues a trend for Thiem, who has played superbly against the world’s best in recent years. In 2019 and 2020, he went a combined 9-3 against the Big Three (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal). This year, he went 1-1 against Djokovic and 2-0 against Nadal.
ATP Masters 1000 Wins
| Player | ATP Masters 1000 Wins | Titles |
| 1) Novak Djokovic | 10-0 | 2 |
| Milos Raonic | 10-3 | 0 |
| 3) Daniil Medvedev | 7-1 | 1 |
| Diego Schwartzman | 7-3 | 0 |
| 5) Rafael Nadal | 5-2 | 0 |
| Denis Shapovalov | 5-2 | 0 |
| Ugo Humbert | 5-3 | 0 |
| Filip Krajinovic | 5-3 | 0 |
Djokovic began 2020 with 34 ATP Masters 1000 titles, one off Nadal’s record 35. But the Serbian tied the Spaniard at the before taking the lead with a victory at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. He went undefeated in the two Masters 1000 events he played this year (10-0).
Decisive Set Wins
| Player | Decisive Set Wins |
| 1) Daniil Medvedev | 9-4 |
| Diego Schwartzman | 9-5 |
| Cristian Garin | 9-5 |
| Daniel Evans | 9-6 |
| Ugo Humbert | 9-6 |
Medvedev won his last five deciding sets of the year, including two en route to the Rolex Paris Masters title and two at the Nitto ATP Finals, in the semi-finals and championship match, respectively. The Russian also tied for the ATP Tour-lead with eight victories in 2020 after losing the first set (8-8). Garin also had eight, but lost more matches (8-12).
Read All Best Of 2020 Stories
– Research contributed by Greg Sharko
Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPTour.com pays tribute to the first-time winners of the 2020 season. Take a look at the six players who lifted their first tour-level trophy in 2020.
Ugo Humbert – Auckland [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
After closing his 2019 ATP Tour season with his debut appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals, Ugo Humbert wasted no time in making his mark on the ATP Tour in 2020. At the ASB Classic in Auckland, Humbert made history as the first French player to lift the ATP 250 trophy.
The Metz-born star battled past fellow 2019 Milan competitor Casper Ruud in three sets to reach the second round, before earning straight-sets wins against Marco Cecchinato, second seed Denis Shapovalov and fourth seed John Isner to reach the championship match.
In a thrilling final, Humbert held his nerve in a dramatic final set to overcome countryman Benoit Paire 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(5). The Frenchman jumped from No. 57 to a career-high No. 43 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
“It’s a tournament of revenge because I’ve lost to four of the five players I played this week,” Humbert joked in Auckland. “It’s a great improvement for me and I couldn’t dream of a better beginning for the season.”
Humbert has since collected his second ATP Tour trophy in Antwerp and cracked the Top 30.
Casper Ruud – Buenos Aires [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Casper Ruud made Norwegian history at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. The Oslo-native became the first player from his nation to lift an ATP Tour trophy with an impressive run. Ruud charged past Pablo Andujar, Roberto Carballes Baena and Dusan Lajovic to reach the semi-finals, in which he rallied from a set down to eliminate Juan Ignacio Londero and reach his second tour-level final.
In the championship match, Ruud ended the run of lucky loser Pedro Sousa in straight sets to lift the title and earn family bragging rights. Casper not only become the first Norwegian ATP Tour champion, he also became the highest-ranked Norwegian in FedEx ATP Rankings history. He beat the previous-best mark held by his father and coach, Christian Ruud (World No. 39).
“I feel a great sensation now. It is what all players look for and dream [of]. I am very happy with my career, although I know that I am still young,” Ruud said. “Buenos Aires will always be a special place for me, this is [where I won] my first title.”
Ruud’s success in Buenos Aires provided the springboard to a breakthrough 2020 campaign. The 21-year-old, who reached a career-high No. 25 on 28 September, finished as a runner-up in Santiago and reached back-to-back semi-finals in Rome and Hamburg to finish the year with a Tour-leading 17 clay wins.
Thiago Seyboth Wild – Santiago [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Thiago Seyboth Wild entered the inaugural Chile Dove Men+Care Open with just three tour-level victories to his name. The #NextGenATP Brazilian left with the trophy.
Seyboth Wild beat three Argentine players en route to his maiden championship match, in which he faced Buenos Aires champion Ruud for the trophy. The 19-year-old earned a crucial early break in the final set and maintained his advantage to become the youngest Brazilian titlist in ATP Tour history and the youngest champion during the Golden Swing since an 18-year-old Rafael Nadal prevailed in 2005 Acapulco.
“It’s an incredible achievement,” Seyboth Wild said. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed about… As the matches went by and I was feeling myself on court, I felt like I could go step-by-step. When I got to the final, I needed to play it just like another match, like I had been playing the whole week and take my chances.”
Miomir Kecmanovic – Kitzbühel [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Following in the footsteps of 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals competitors Humbert and Ruud, Miomir Kecmanovic added his name to the 2020 first-time winners list with his title run at the Generali Open.
Fourteen months after failing to convert championship point in his first ATP Tour final in Antalya, the Serbian earned three-set wins against Kei Nishikori, Federico Delbonis and Marc-Andrea Huesler to earn his second title opportunity. In the final, Kecmanovic ended the run of qualifier Yannick Hanfmann to collect his maiden ATP Tour crown.
“It means a lot [to win my first ATP Tour title]. I worked so hard for this,” said Kecmanovic. “I am definitely happy that I was able to achieve it so quickly.”
John Millman – Nur-Sultan [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
At the inaugural Astana Open, John Millman became the fifth first-time ATP Tour champion of the year and the fifth player in 2020 to win a tour-level trophy after saving match point.
In the quarter-finals, Millman saved two match points at 3-5 down in the decider and recovered from 0/5 in a final-set tie-break to outlast Tommy Paul. Millman also needed to recover from a set down against Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals to reach his third ATP Tour final. The 31-year-old Australian handled the pressure of playing a championship match well in Nur-Sultan. He saved all six break points he faced against Adrian Mannarino to become the oldest first-time ATP Tour champion of the season.
“It is incredible. I am so happy and relieved,” Millman said. “I just feel very satisfied. It is just a pure moment of satisfaction… That was my third final, third time lucky, I guess. These things aren’t easy to win and to do so at a place where I felt so comfortable all week, in terms of the hospitality, makes it really special. To win the inaugural Astana Open is special. I am so happy. It has been a big team effort and I am pumped.”
Jannik Sinner – Sofia [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
One year after his breakthrough success at the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Jannik Sinner ended an impressive 2020 season with his first ATP Tour title at the Sofia Open. The #NextGenATP Italian dropped just one set en route to the final. In the quarter-finals, he recovered from a set down to overcome Alex de Minaur in a repeat of the 2019 Milan championship match.
In the final, Sinner was pushed all the way to a final-set tie-break by Vasek Pospisil. The 19-year-old played with aggression in crucial moments to clinch his victory and earn his place in the history books. Sinner became the youngest ATP Tour titlist since an 18-year-old Kei Nishikori won the 2008 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.
“It is always special when you win tournaments,” Sinner said. “I felt well this week. It is special. Playing finals like this, 7-6 in the third… is always tough. But when you win, it is an even better win than winning 6-1 6-1.
“I am happy about the match, how I tried to stay there every point and I think it is a very special week for me.”
Sinner’s title run capped a memorable 2020 season for the San Candido-born star. The 6’2” right-hander earned three Top 10 wins in 2020 and finished the year with a 19-11 record. Following his success in Sofia, Sinner jumped to a career-high No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
Read All Best Of 2020 Stories
Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer says he faces a “tight” race to be fit to play at the Australian Open.
