ATP Cup: Germany with Olympic spirit for the title?
Alexander Zverev leads the German team at the ATP Cup in Sydney. A well-rehearsed team is gathering around number three in the world.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Dec 25, 2021, 02:40 pm
You can't blame Yannick Hanfmann for not wanting to go to the Olympics. Hanfmann speculated with a start in Tokyo until the closing date, before Philipp Kohlschreiber caught up with him on the home straight. And so Hanfmann is the only player in the German ATP Cup team who was absent from the Olympic Games in the summer. The other four athletes (Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz), on the other hand, should still be inspired by the Olympic spirit that drove Zverev to the gold medal.
Not to be forgotten in this situation: Michael Kohlmann, German Davis Cup captain and Head of Men's Tennis in the German Tennis Federation. Kohlmann was part of the team in Tokyo and will also take on this role in Sydney. The captain at the ATP Cup is determined by the respective number one in the country, Alexander Zverev and Michael Kohlmann have a very good get-together.
In 2020 Kohlmann was already there to support captain Boris Becker, at the second edition at the beginning of this year, Mischa Zverev was the German team boss.
Zverev should win his singles
The tasks are known, the calculation is simple after the experiences at the Davis Cup last in Innsbruck and Madrid: A point has to be found in the singles, Krawietz and Pütz then fix it in doubles. Zverev goes into his three games against Félix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Cameron Norrie as a huge favorite, Jan-Lennard Struff does not necessarily have to see himself as a big outsider against Denis Shapovalov, John Isner and Daniel Evans. Especially not against the Canadian left-hander, who is far ahead of Struff in the ATP charts, but has lost five out of seven games against the German.
The Germans kick off on January 2nd against the British (live on Sky and ServusTV), the memories of the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Innsbruck are still fresh. Since Struff had asserted himself in the top singles against Norrie, then Krawietz / Pütz won the doubles.
Michael Kohlmann recently told tennisnet.com that the German group is the one with the fewest question marks, making it the most balanced. Nevertheless, the team around Zverev is the big favorite in the preliminary round.
The chances of the first triumph at the ATP Cup are not bad either: Russia has the best single players (on number two with Andrey Rublev) in the top line-up, but there are weaknesses in doubles. And Serbia, winner of the 2020 premiere, will not play a role in the title fight after the likely cancellation of Novak Djokovic.