ATP Cup: Sydney wasn't Adelboden - a good thing
Canada, thanks to Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, has won the ATP Cup in 2022. Time to take stock.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jan 09, 2022, 12:58 pm
The atmosphere
Admittedly: At most matches the ranks were rather thin, for the Australians caution is still the mother of the porcelain box. Good thing in the middle of a pandemic. Especially when you look at Adelboden, where all the rules seem to be suspended on this Ski World Cup weekend. The atmosphere was nevertheless good, not only when the hosts performed (but especially there). Maybe at the ATP Cup you have found the best balance between ghost games like in the Bundesliga and a party atmosphere like at Kuonisbergli.
The format
16 teams in four groups is exactly what the competition is appropriate. Each team is guaranteed three missions, there were no big calculations at the end of the group stage (in contrast to the Davis Cup final round with 18 teams, where the two best runners-up from a total of six groups made it through).
The participants
The dog is buried here. The ATP wants to see all the top players at the start. And accepts unbalanced teams like Greece, Georgia, Norway and Austria. Perhaps another key to participation would offer itself, for example the average value of the world rankings of the two best individual players. Or the consideration of the double. Then you could have seen the Croatians, most recently in the Davis Cup final, in Sydney. And with the double Mektic / Pavic Croatia would certainly have been more competitive than the Georgians, for example.
The finalists
After Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev had left because of the corona, it was clear that Daniil Medvedev would basically have to carry the Russians alone to defend their title. Roman Safiullin has done well, especially in doubles. The balance between the Spaniards and the Canadians proved its worth in the end. Even if Medvedev / Safiullin were a successful match-break away from reaching the finals.
The Germans
Who would have thought that when Alexander Zverev and Kevin Krawietz lost doubles against Daniel Evans and Jamie Murray, everything had already gone down the drain? The other matches in Group C then turned out to be such that the last game against the Canadians was no longer important. This was shown in Alexander Zverev's match against Félix Auger-Aliassime, which the German number one always wins under normal circumstances. Before that, Zverev was sovereign in the singles, Jan-Lennard Struff was able to rehabilitate himself after the disastrous start against Evans with victories against John Isner and a strong lecture against Denis Shapovalov.
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