Novak Djokovic admires the simplicity, the restorative aspects of the koala lifestyle. The irresistible animals rarely stray from their eucalyptus trees in eastern Australia and sleep for up to 18 hours a day.

Djokovic, however, the No. 2 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, doesn’t think it’d be such a good idea for him or Team Serbia to act more like koalas at the ATP Cup in Brisbane.

“I don’t think the koala lifestyle would help us tennis players a lot, even though at times we could definitely learn something from them,” Djokovic said on Wednesday while standing next to a couple of cuddly koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. “Sometimes the simple things are the best things, just relaxing and being present, kind of recuperating and being outdoors, being in the nature.”

Serbia’s No. 1 grew up exploring nature and the Serbian mountains, and that’s where Djokovic learned to appreciate wildlife and animals.

“I love animals, spending times close to them but respecting their space, which I think is very important because we sometimes as people try to act as the most dominant species, which we consider ourselves to be. But I truly believe we all should live in harmony and respect and there is a higher order of nature that we should all be aware of,” Djokovic said. “I’m very close to a koala at the moment. I see that they’re sleeping and resting so I don’t want to disturb them too much but it’s definitely a very unique experience.”

Djokovic and his ATP Cup teammates Dusan Lajovic, Nikola Milojevic, Nikola Cacic and Viktor Troicki have been adapting the koala lifestyle at times – enjoying each other’s company off the court and relaxing away from the tennis. But they’ve been employing their usual routines – those of hard-working tennis players – most of the time Down Under.

Serbia plays its first match on Saturday against South Africa.

“Many, many different things that we can do also off the court as well we get to enjoy. We stay together and play different sports. We spend quality time and it’s fun, because the concept of ATP Cup is a team concept, team format, and so it does give us an opportunity to represent our country and be a part of the team which is not something that we do experience throughout the year very often,” Djokovic said.

Kevin Anderson will make a welcome return to the ATP Tour for the first time in six months, representing Team South Africa at the inaugural ATP Cup, which is being held in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney from 3 January.

“It’s going to be an awesome event representing South Africa and also for the sport of tennis,” Anderson told ATPTour.com. “Coming back to a big stage, with guaranteed matches is a perfect way to start the season.

Anderson, who has not played competitively since 5 July due to a right knee injury, will lead Team South Africa in Brisbane alongside Lloyd Harris, Ruan Roelofse, Khololwam Montsi and Raven Klaasen.

“It’s a great opportunity to represent South Africa in this format, which makes a lot of sense for players,” said Anderson. “We have a good team with Lloyd, who continues to get better, and Raven, who had an amazing year in doubles.

“I’ll be healthy and ready to go, I bring a lot of experience and have played a lot of these guys before. Coming back from injuries is always a little bit tricky, but the way my practises have been going, I’ll be ready to go from the very first match.”

Anderson was restricted to just 15 matches in the 2019 season, which included lifting his sixth ATP Tour title at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune (d. Karlovic). His final match of the year came against Guido Pella in the Wimbledon third round on 5 July. The former World No. 5 and his wife, Kelsey, then welcomed their first child, Keira, on 27 September.

“2019 was a bit of a tough year for me on the tennis court,” said Anderson. “Coming in after my best year in 2018, starting the year off well and winning in Pune. Then the injuries came upon me, first the elbow then the knee, after the elbow had been better for the week.

“Looking back, you always think you could have done better, but off the court my wife and I knew we’d be having our first baby. So it was a blessing in disguise, to be able to spend more time with them, especially at home. All in all, I’m looking forward to getting back on the match court.”

Last month, Anderson hosted Courtside Cause, his third charity event, at the Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club. The event benefitted First Serve, Dezzy’s Second Chance Animal Rescue and Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Alliance.

When Team Bulgaria’s Adrian Andreev was seven, he was at the tennis club where he trained, practising like normal, when the recent Wimbledon Boys’ Singles champion stopped by for a hit. Grigor Dimitrov was only 17 at the time, but he was already showing the potential of becoming a superstar.

“It was awesome,” Andreev recalled. “Everyone was talking about him and they said he’s upcoming and he made it to the very top, so that’s great.”

Not only has Dimitrov reached No. 3 in the ATP Rankings and won the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals, but he has inspired the next generation of Bulgarian tennis players. The 28-year-old will be hands-on with Andreev, Dimitar Kuzmanov, Alexandar Lazarov and Alexander Donski as Team Bulgaria’s playing captain at the ATP Cup in Sydney.

“For me tennis has always been my passion and I think growing up in Bulgaria, I always wanted to bring something back to the country if I would have ever made it to the top, and I think now I feel obviously the weight of a little bit of what I have achieved throughout all the years,” Dimitrov said. “Being able to have these guys by my side, it’s great to be able to give a little bit of an insight into what it is to be on the next level and hopefully they can achieve the same thing one day.”

It’s no secret what Dimitrov has accomplished on the court. But according to Bulgaria’s No. 2 singles player, Kuzmanov, the eight-time titlist’s success has transcended tennis in their country.

“Obviously it’s great for the whole country and for each sport, not only in tennis, but in every other sport. He’s a role model, an ambassador for our country, for our sport, for our mentality, for our traditions and it’s great,” Kuzmanov said. “The last time we had someone like him was probably [Hristo] Stoichkov, so it’s amazing to have someone like him.”

Stoichkov, a retired football star, received the prestigious Ballon d’Or — given to the football player considered the best in the world for that year — in 1994, putting Dimitrov in elite company. And since the World No. 20 is the only Bulgarian in the Top 100, qualifying his country for the ATP Cup gives his teammates a special opportunity to compete on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

“It’s a great experience and that’s why we were really happy when we found out that we were going to take part in the ATP Cup with Grigor as a captain. He’s one of the best tennis players in the world and we can only learn from him and that’s what we did the past few days since we came here,” Kuzmanov said. “He’s really open and he’s helping each one of us and looking forward for the upcoming 10 days and trying to learn as much as I can and [I think it’s the same] for everyone on the team.”

Dimitrov will do all he can to earn as many wins as possible when he is competing. But he is also doing everything in his power to empower his countrymen.

“I’m very happy to share, spend a lot of time with them. I just basically tell them, ‘Guys, ask me anything you want, anything you need.’ To me it’s a pure honour,” Dimitrov said. “I’ve always played for Bulgaria and now to be able to participate in the ATP Cup is something very special and it’s special for them. I’m not taking that role as a playing captain lightly, and hopefully I [can] help them.”

Dimitrov has been on court assisting teammates with their games, a new role for the Bulgarian No. 1. He will also be able to coach during matches as captain.

“I think being a coach is one of the toughest jobs, and now I know what it is to be a little bit on the other end,” Dimitrov said. “In the past days I’ve spent some time with the boys on the court and I was just on the side basically. It’s very different.

“I think all the guys are doing an amazing job for being in such an environment. I think it’s very new for them. I understand that… Also to be with the other top guys, clearly when I’m with the team, I don’t really think of me in any other way, just part of the team. They’re doing great, honestly. They’re doing great. I’m very happy and proud of each one of them.”

Eight of the Top 10 players in the ATP Rankings are competing, and there are six countries with multiple Top 30 players playing in this 24-team event. So it won’t be easy, but the Bulgarians believe they bring strong intangibles that will help them succeed.

From early practices ahead of the ATP Cup, it is clear that there will be plenty of team-based factors that play a role in individual matches.

“It’s going to be because we have a great team spirit,” Kuzmanov said. “It’s in our veins, it’s in our history as a nation. That is what our most powerful weapon is and once again we expect a lot of Bulgarians living here in Australia are going to cheer for us and we’ll try to make our country proud.”

Dimitrov may be the biggest star for Team Bulgaria. But he agrees with Kuzmanov that the best players in the ATP Rankings may not always come out on top at the ATP Cup.

“The unity, that’s always been the key,” Dimitrov said. “I think we have a legitimate chance in every corner, on every level. If we stay united, if we do things the right way, anything can happen.”

If the bare foot bowls game between Germany and Canada on Wednesday serves as any indication, the Germans, led by No. 7 Alexander Zverev, will be quick to start at the ATP Cup in Brisbane.

The Germans beat the Canadians, led by #NextGenATP stars Denis Shapovalov, No. 15 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 21, in an abbreviated game of the traditional Aussie past-time at the Merthyr Bowls Club in Brisbane.

The past-time could be considered a mix of a few sports. First, the obvious comparison: bowling, because in bare foot bowls, you roll a ball underhand on a manicured green, similar to those found on golf courses. Horseshoes also comes to mind because the team that delivers the ball closest to the white ball, or the “jack”, wins. And as the club’s greens director, Ian Warden, explained, bare foot bowls is also “just like tennis”.

“You play forehand and backhand in balls; you play forehand and backhand in tennis,” Warden said of rolling the ball with either the right or left hand.

But instead of using a racquet to hit a light fuzzy ball, in bare foot bowls, you use your hands to roll a weighted, hard ball that can weigh about two kilos and often meanders as it sees fit, as the Germans and Canadians learned.

“That’s not good, boys!” Canada’s Peter Polansky shouted after a errant roll.

Germany won both games of three-on-three, partly thanks to reigning Roland Garros doubles champion Andreas Mies, who won the Grand Slam title with countryman Kevin Krawietz, both of whom are representing their country at the ATP Cup.

“It’s the first time we’ve played this game. I have no experience with this, and it was a lot of fun. I was up and down, one shot was good, one was terrible, one was good,” Mies said. “But in the end, we got the win.”

Germany will look to Mies and Krawietz to play clutch on the court as well as doubles will be the final match of the three (also two singles) to be played in every team contest. The Germans open against Australia at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Canada, however, said a little gamesmanship might have been involved on New Year’s Day.

“Our goal was to not show our tough competitiveness at this time because we’re going to play them in the round robin, so we don’t want to give them everything we’ve got in the beginning,” Canadian captain Adriano Fuorivia said.

Fuorivia, Shapovalov’s former coach, and the Canadians kick off the ATP Cup in Brisbane at 10 a.m. Friday against Greece. Canada will face Germany at 10 a.m. Tuesday 7 January, both teams’ final group match.

“It’s good to have these team events. We don’t get a lot of these throughout the year,” Auger-Aliassime said. “There’s a great chemistry with us together. A lot of good times, a lot of positive vibes, I think everyone is going to be pushing in the right direction this week, so hopefully we get good results out of that.”

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Team Spain took a trip on Wednesday to Rottnest Island, 18 kilometres west of mainland Australia, ahead of the start of the inaugural ATP Cup that begins on 3 January.

Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Feliciano Lopez and captain Francisco Roig joined Nadal on a helicopter trip to the popular holiday island, which is full of sandy beaches and unique wildlife.

Team Spain swam in the sea, posed with the island’s wildlife, including taking selfies with Quokkas, and rode e-bikes to Little Parakeet Bay for a beach barbeque with local seafood.

“Rottnest is really amazing,” said Nadal. “For us, it was a little bit of an early wake-up call with jetlag still affecting us, but the beaches and wildlife are something we will remember for a long time. The Quokkas are super-friendly, and they weren’t afraid to be close. We had some fun with them.

“It’s great to be in Perth and I’m excited to play at the ATP Cup. The people are very supportive to tennis, all around the country, and it’s exciting to share this competition with great team mates. We want to do well.”

Rafa got a Quokka selfie! ?

?: @RafaelNadal | @ATPCup pic.twitter.com/GuO537YIfb

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 1, 2020

Paul Papalia, Tourism WA Minister, officially welcomed Team Spain on Rottnest Island, saying: “It’s really exciting to have the ATP Cup in Perth and Western Australia. We have the best players in the world here, so people can get up close to watch them in the next few days. Importantly, we’re pleased to have Team Spain here promoting Western Australia, and one of the key visits is to come to Rottnest and get selfies with Quokkas.”

“We are very happy to be here in Perth,” said Lopez. “Tennis is an individual sport, but we’ll be sharing everything that’s going to happen in the week. We’ll be ready to play our first matches on Sunday.”

Team Spain is competing in Group B at the RAC Arena in Perth alongside Japan, Georgia and Uruguay. For latest tournament information, live scores, group standings and more, visit ATPCup.com.

Team Great Britain spends plenty of time together throughout the year, from going to dinners to watching football matches. But on Wednesday afternoon, they enjoyed a special group experience, going for an hour-long boat ride on Sydney Harbour before getting down to business at the inaugural ATP Cup.

Captain Tim Henman, Daniel Evans, Cameron Norrie, James Ward, Joe Salisbury and Jamie Murray all took their phones out as soon as they arrived at the harbour, taking in the great views before bonding on the boat.

“It’s such a great city and you know you’ve got a lot of iconic features with the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House,” Henman said. “It really is a beautiful city and it’s great to be back.”

The group posed for plenty of pictures as the boat passed under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with some members of the team marvelling at people who were climbing the iconic landmark. They stepped around to the front of the boat to lounge and check out the rest of the Sydney skyline, including Sydney Opera House.

“It’s a great change-up. It’s nice to be here,” Ward said. “I love coming to Australia every year and obviously a new event and representing your country is always a special thing and hopefully we’ll have a lot of fun this week.”

Team Great Britain will begin its ATP Cup efforts on Friday evening at 530pm local time against Team Bulgaria. The other countries competing in Group C are Belgium and Moldova, with the winner automatically advancing to the Final Eight, also taking place in Sydney.

A doubles match will wrap up each tie at the ATP Cup and could play a crucial role in determining which country leaves with the trophy, making it imperative that the world’s best doubles players are in top form from the first ball.

ATPTour.com looks at five countries that could be dominant in doubles during the 10-day event. Team captains decide which players will pair up and the official doubles lineups for each tie are still to be determined.

Germany (Kevin Krawietz & Andreas Mies)
Krawietz/Mies produced the biggest doubles surprise of 2019 by storming through the Roland Garros draw as an unseeded duo for their first Grand Slam title (d. Chardy/Martin). The German pair also lifted tour-level crowns in Long Island (d. Gonzalez/Qureshi) and Antwerp (d. Ram/Salisbury), reached the semi-finals at the US Open and qualified for their maiden appearance at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in London.

France (Nicolas Mahut & Edouard Roger-Vasselin)
Mahut and Roger-Vasselin enjoyed success together and with other partners this past season. They prevailed in Tokyo (d. Mektic/Skugor) to earn their seventh ATP Tour team doubles title.

Roger-Vasselin also won in Montpellier (w/Dodig), Lyon (w/Dodig) and Stockholm (w/Kontinen). Meanwhile, Mahut teamed with fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert to complete their Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open (d. Kontinen/Peers). They ended the year with titles at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris (d. Khachanov/Rublev) and the season finale in London (d. Klaasen/Venus).

Croatia (Ivan Dodig & Nikola Mektic)
After prevailing with Roger-Vasselin in Montpellier and Lyon, Dodig enjoyed a remarkable second half of 2019 with Slovakian Filip Polasek. One month after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals, they won their first Masters 1000 team title in Cincinnati (d. Cabal/Farah). The pair followed up with a trophy in Beijing (d. Kubot/Melo) and eventually qualified for the season finale in London.

Mektic proved his versatility by enjoying success with multiple partners. He won his first two Masters 1000 crowns in Indian Wells (w/Zeballos) and Monte-Carlo (w/Skugor), in addition to taking the title in Sofia (w/Melzer).

Great Britain (Jamie Murray & Joe Salisbury)
Salisbury looks to build on his breakout season with American Rajeev Ram. They earned titles this past year in Dubai (d. McLachlan/Struff) and Vienna (d. Kubot/Melo) to help clinch their spot in the season-ending championships, marking Salisbury’s maiden appearance at The O2 in London.

Murray, a two-time men’s doubles Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 player in the ATP Doubles Rankings, is still one of the most dangerous competitors on Tour. His consistent 2019 season included prevailing in Sydney and finishing runner-up in Barcelona (both w/Soares), in addition to semi-final showings at the US Open (w/N. Skupski) and Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo, Cincinnati and Shanghai.

United States (Rajeev Ram & Austin Krajicek)
Ram’s stellar year with Salisbury brought the 35-year-old into his third appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. Krajicek also produced another solid season in 2019. Shortly after reaching the Acapulco final with Kiwi Artem Sitak (l. to Zverev/Zverev), he enjoyed success with Brit Dominic Inglot. The pair triumphed in ’s-Hertogenbosch (d. Daniell/Koolhof) and Atlanta (d. Bryan/Bryan), and also advanced to the final in Los Cabos (l. to Arneodo/Nys).