The field is set for the 2021 edition of the ATP Cup. Qualification is based on the FedEx ATP Ranking of each country’s highest-ranked player, with the tournament to include 14 of the world’s top 15. A complete the twelve countries to have qualified and the 48 players currently committed to the tournament can be found at the bottom of the page.
There are a few surprises on the list given this qualification criteria. In Roger Federer’s absence, Canada have taken the place of Switzerland, whilst Kei Nishikori used his protected ranking of #10 to earn Japan a spot in the 2021 ATP Cup. By virtue of hosting the tournament, Australia have been given a wild-card entry.
Which team are the favourites this year?
Serbia could be considered the favourites to win in 2021. Novak Djokovic won all of his matches in 2020, including a couple of tricky wins in doubles, spearheading Serbia’s route to the title.
Purely based on combined rankings however, Spain and Russia are the teams that are arguably most likely to lift this year’s trophy. Last year’s runner-up, Spain have a team consisting of three top 15 players and Marcel Granollers, ranked 11th in doubles. Both Rafael Nadal or Pablo Carreno Busta could comfortably pair with Granollers in the doubles.
On the other hand, whilst Russia lack doubles prowess, they surely make up for it in singles domination. The formidable pairing of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, world #4 and world #8 in respectively, will be tough for any team to best.
Germany and Australia could be considered dark horses. For the Germans, both Alexander Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff have the potential to beat players above them in the rankings, whilst Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies defended their doubles title at the 2020 French Open. It all depends on how Zverev is feeling on the day as he is also capable of playing below his ranking, losing all three matches last year.
With no player in the top 20, the Aussies will look to make use of their home advantage. Last year, De Minaur and John Millman were spurred on by the crowd and won crucial matches on Australia’s way to the semifinals. But doubles specialist John Peers will have a secure partner in Luke Saville, 2020’s Australian Open finalist.
Will there be spectators?
As it stands, the ATP Cup is permitted to have spectators in Melbourne Park to enjoy live tennis. Many players will have missed this throughout 2020 and will hopefully revel in the opportunity to feed off of the crowd. If 2021’s ATP Cup is anything like last year’s, the level of play will be outstanding and there will be plenty of hot-shots.
The ATP Cup takes place from 1 – 5 February 2021.
Qualifying countries and players committed to the ATP Cup 2021
Serbia
Novak Djokovic (#1), Dusan Lajovic (#26), Filip Krajinovic (#30), Nikola Cacic (Doubles #56)
Spain
Rafael Nadal (#2), Roberto Bautista Agut (#13), Pablo Carreno Busta (#15), Marcel Granollers (Doubles #11)
Austria
Dominic Thiem (#3), Dennis Novak (#98), Philipp Oswald (Doubles #42), Tristan-Samuel Weissborn (Doubles #109)
Russia
Daniil Medvedev (#4), Andrey Rublev (#8), Aslan Karatsev (#112), Evgeny Donskoy (#122)
Greece
Stefanos Tsitsipas (#6), Michail Pervolarakis (#458), Markos Kalovelonis (#536), Petros Tsitsipas (Doubles #775)
Germany
Alexander Zverev (#7), Jan-Lennard Struff (#37), Kevin Krawietz (Doubles #19), Andreas Mies (Doubles #20)
Argentina
Diego Schwartzman (#9), Guido Pella (#44), Horacio Zeballos (Doubles #3), Maximo Gonzalez (Doubles #43)
Italy
Matteo Berrettini (#10), Fabio Fognini (#17), Simone Bolelli (Doubles #68), Andrea Vavassori (Doubles #94)
Japan
Kei Nishikori (#41), Yoshihito Nishioka (#57), Ben McLachlan (Doubles #47), Toshihide Matsui (Doubles #207)
France
Gael Monfils (#11), Benoit Paire (#28), Nicolas Mahut (Doubles #7), Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Doubles #14)
Canada
Denis Shapovalov (#12), Milos Raonic (#14), Steven Diez (#177), Peter Polansky (#179)
Australia
Alex De Minaur (#23), John Millman (#38), John Peers (Doubles #28), Luke Saville (Doubles #37)
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
