ATP Cup: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic & Co. - the stars are here
From January 3rd, the ATP Cup is the first highlight of the new season. With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic , the two biggest stars of the first event held in Australia have now arrived.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Dec 30, 2019, 06:24 pm
Tennis events also thrive on the big names. The organizers of the ATP Cup will have been delighted to see that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, two of the best tennis players of all time, have arrived in Australia - especially after Roger Federer's cancellation , the Spaniard and the Serb will be the center of attention.
Both Nadal and Djokovic completed their first training session for the ATP Cup starting on January 3 on December 30. The world number one from Mallorca will open in Perth, his first pursuer in the ATP charts will play the group games in Brisbane. Spain and Serbia will intervene on the second day of the tournament.
If the two superstars of the scene and their teams survive the preliminary round, Nadal and Djokovic would then go for the title in Sydney. Whether the matches in the largest city in Australia can go as planned, however, is still up in the air due to the bush fires.
Zverev, Tsitsipas and Kyrgios in the same group
According to schedule, Dominic Thiem would also play in Sydney. The 26-year-old has been in Australia for a week and meets Austria, Group E, Croatia, Argentina and Poland. Group C games will also be played in Sydney. Belgium, Bulgaria, Moldova and Great Britain without Andy Murray are located there.
So while in Sydney you have to get by without the big names at least in the preliminary round, things look a bit different in Perth and Brisbane thanks to Nadal and Djokovic. But the most explosive group is one without the two legends - in group F (Brisbane) Germany (with Alexander Zverev), Greece (with Stefanos Tsitsipas), Canada (with Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime) and Australia (with Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios) meet.
The winner of the ATP Cup premiere edition will be chosen in Sydney on January 12th. A week later, the Australian Grand will start the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in Melbourne.