ATP Cup: The tops and flops of the first edition
The ATP Cup has been history since Sunday and has its first winner with Serbia. We look back at ten days full of world-class tennis, great emotions and some scandal.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 14, 2020, 06:55 pm
Top # 1: (Almost) all top players at the start
What could be more beautiful than a world number one finale, Rafael Nadal, against his first pursuer, Novak Djokovic? The entire ATP Cup was brimming with top stars and big matches, because only Roger Federer and Matteo Berrettini were missing from the top 10 in the world rankings. Especially Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and the new number four in the world, Daniil Medvedev, presented themselves in extremely good shape early in the season. But Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas also brought really strong tennis onto the court at times - even if the results could not quite meet the high expectations. The only player who dropped a little in this round was Alexander Zverev: The German could not win a game and showed clear deficits, especially with his own serve.
Top # 2: The second row also blows to attack
Alex DeMinaur, Hubert Hurkacz, David Goffin, Grigor Dimitrov, Dennis Shapovalov: Many players outside the top 10 were able to play very well at the ATP Cup and make you want to play many high-class duels in the first rounds of the Australian Open. Particularly noteworthy here are the victories of David Goffin over Rafael Nadal and Hubert Hurkacz over Dominic Thiem, as well as the excellent performance of Dennis Shapovalov , who was able to take out two top 10 players with Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas and become the outstanding player of the ATP Cup, Novak Djokovic, had to give up in the tiebreak of the third set.
Top # 3: Big emotions
Sport lives from the players and their emotions. There were enough of these at the ATP Cup because there was no sign of a preparatory tournament atmosphere from the start. Already in the group phase it was very hot in some matches, especially in the double between Serbia and France: Novak Djokovic alongside Viktor Troicki and Edouard Roger-Vasselin with Nicolas Mahut fought an epic fight for the group victory, celebrating every point win and brought the Queensland Tennis Center in Brisbane to a boil. And this was the key to the knockout phase: in which the conceivably scarce double victory of the Australians over England made the fans at home extremely happy. That's why we love this sport so much.
Top # 4: The boxes and the coaches
A star ensemble sat on the coaching benches of the different teams during the ATP Cup. From Thomas Muster to Marat Safin to Boris Becker - the list of legends is long. Coupled with the on-court boxes, the coaches gave a remarkably good picture. Be it Thomas Muster, who cheered on his protégés after (almost) every point, or Marat Safin, who did not show any nakedness after the victory of his Russians over Argentina and signed the TV camera. The probably most positive memory, especially of the Austrian tennis fans, dates from a time when the Austrian team had already left: Namely as Dominic Thiem and Thomas Muster announced that the former number one in the world will increasingly be in the box of the Lichtenwörther in the future will see.
Top # 5: In the end there is fairness
No matter how hot the fight, how close the defeat, how charged the mood on the court: In the end there were appreciative handshakes across the bank, the trip to the opposing bank and respect for the achievements of the winners. Here the behavior of the actors was the best advertisement for tennis.
Top # 6: Awareness of the bush fires
Far from the tennis courts, Australia is currently going through a very difficult time. In the meantime, in the course of the bush fires, an area was burned that is far larger than the total area of Austria. That is why it is all the more important that tennis uses its popularity to draw attention to this sensitive topic. Initiatives such as “Aces for Bushfire Relief” also actively raised money for non-profit organizations down under. It is hoped that the situation will normalize as soon as possible.
But it wasn't all good at the first edition of the ATP Cup. For next year there is still a lot of room for improvement for organizers and players:
Flop # 1: The women's question
More and more voices were raised in the course of the ATP Cup whether the women had been forgotten in its planning. Sometimes the Hopman Cup was always played at the beginning of the season, with both women and men on the pitch. Now there is a new team event - this time without female participation. The fact that the women had to play their first rounds of the tournament in Brisbane on the outside courts due to the ATP Cup did not minimize the criticism. There should be a better solution here next year, a parallel WTA Cup - as mentioned by Sam Stosur or Novak Djokovic - could be one.
Flop # 2: The freak out of the young guard
When there are as many emotions as there are at events where the pressure of an entire country is on the shoulders of young athletes, it can very quickly happen that these emotions turn negative. This is what happened to Alexander Zverev, who destroyed racket after racket, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who even injured his father, and Daniil Medvedev, who let out his frustration at the referee's chair. These are very unsightly scenes that are often too prominent in public perception and push into the background what should really be the focus: world-class tennis and the performance of the athletes.
Flop # 3: "Twice the same event in a few weeks"
Denis Shapovalov found clear words what he thinks of the separation of the ATP Cup and Davis Cup. It was only on November 24 that he faced Rafael Nadal in the Davis Cup final. Now, almost a month and a half later, the next team competition with a very similar system is on the program. A decision that many players and fans can hardly understand. It is relatively unlikely that an agreement between the ITF and ATP will be reached in this case. In any case, it would be hopeful for the players.
Flop # 4: Football stadium atmosphere in Sydney
With a thumbs up to the audience ranks, Rafael Nadal stepped towards the box after losing the first set against Novak Djokovic. The thumbs up was for a few unteachers in the stadium and was anything but nice - too often there were unfair interjections in the first set between the Spaniard's first and second serve. It is of course nice to see that an arena is also full in tennis. But if the mood changes to the unfair and the cheers only serve the purpose of getting the opponent out of concentration, a limit has been crossed. But Rafael Nadal also sees these border crossings as an exception: "To be honest, the support from the audience was fantastic every day." According to Nadal, a few fans lack respect.
Flop # 5: Moldova and the false anthem
It was the first day of the ATP Cup when the teams from Moldova and Belgium entered the Sydney court for their preliminary round duel. When the Moldavian players got ready to sing their anthem, they were suddenly amazed. Because it was not the Moldavian anthem that could be heard in the arena. The organizers had inadvertently played the Romanian anthem. An embarrassment that was quickly forgotten with a personal apology from the organizer and will probably only be remembered with a smile.
So a lot has happened in Australia during these ten days of January. In the end, the Serbian team around Novak Djokovic put the crown on and is the first winner of the ATP Cup. For the tennis fans, the next big highlight will continue in a few days: On January 20, the Australian Open will start. The ATP Cup is unlikely to have diminished the anticipation.