#NextGenATP star Miomir Kecmanovic secured his place in the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open before rain washed out the remainder of play on Thursday in Doha. Kecmanovic raced to 6-2, 6-0 win over Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics in 56 minutes. 

“It was pretty good timing. Good thing that I was able to finish before this happened,” said Kecmanovic. “I’m feeling good. I’m playing good. Hopefully I can keep it up.”

The 20-year-old Serbian has yet to drop a set this week, including a second-round win over 2012 Doha champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday. Kecmanovic, who finished 2019 with a semi-final run at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan (l. to Sinner), said his off-season training in Dubai with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov has already made a difference. 

“It was definitely a good group of guys to practise with,” he said. “And I definitely think I’ve maybe sped up my game a little bit because they take time away for you so much. I think I’ve kind of got a little bit used to it and maybe it’s now a little bit easier to play against some of the other guys.

“But it’s definitely something I still have to work on and definitely something that will, if I can, let’s say perfect or let’s say be my normal game, that I could take it far if that happens.”

Kecmanovic awaits the winner between second-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who will resume their quarter-final match on Friday. Kecmanovic prevailed against Herbert in a third-set tie-break last year at the Citi Open, but has never faced the 22-year-old Rublev at the tour level.

“I played him a long time ago in juniors, but I haven’t played him since then,” he said. “It would definitely be an exciting match, but he still has to win tomorrow…. I’m definitely looking forward to coming out again and to playing my best game.”

ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY, 10 JANUARY 2020

CENTER COURT start 1:00 pm
[Q] C. Moutet (FRA) vs F. Verdasco (ESP) 
[1] S. Wawrinka (SUI) vs A. Bedene (SLO) 00
M. Kecmanovic (SRB) vs P. Herbert (FRA) or [2] A. Rublev (RUS) 
[1] S. Wawrinka (SUI) or A. Bedene (SLO) vs [Q] C. Moutet (FRA) or F. Verdasco (ESP) 

COURT 1 start 12:30 pm
P. Herbert (FRA) vs [2] A. Rublev (RUS) 11
Possible Court Change – F. Nielsen (DEN) / T. Puetz (GER) or L. Bambridge (GBR) / S. Gonzalez (MEX) vs [3] R. Bopanna (IND) / W. Koolhof (NED) or [2] H. Kontinen (FIN) / F. Skugor (CRO) 
COURT 2 start 12:30 pm
F. Nielsen (DEN) / T. Puetz (GER) vs L. Bambridge (GBR) / S. Gonzalez (MEX) 62 02

COURT 3 start 12:30 pm
[3] R. Bopanna (IND) / W. Koolhof (NED) vs [2] H. Kontinen (FIN) / F. Skugor (CRO) 00

Kevin Anderson was presented with his Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award from the 2019 ATP Awards on Wednesday in Brisbane during the ATP Cup ahead of South Africa’s tie against France.

“It means a lot. Obviously we spend a lot of time out here on the court and it’s very competitive, but I think it’s really important to try to give back as much as you can and fortunately as my career has gone on I feel I’ve been able to create a bit of a platform and I’ve tried to use that time as much as I can to give back,” Anderson told the crowd. “I couldn’t do this without my wife [Kelsey] as well. She’s been instrumental and we share the same vision. Hopefully as the years go by we’ll be able to increase our efforts off the court.”

Anderson also received a 2020 ATP ACES For Charity grant worth $/€15,000 to support First Serve, for which he is an ambassador. Headquartered in South Florida, First Serve is an after-school program that serves children from impoverished and high-crime areas, with the goal of engaging, educating and empowering students and helping develop them into leaders in their communities.

“I think we can all do better. I certainly challenge myself every day. There are a lot of great causes you can get involved with,” Anderson said. “I just try to do better each and every single day.”

Team Russia sent a clear message to the rest of the ATP Cup field on Thursday night: Look out.

The young and powerful squad, led by two 6’6” 23-year-olds – No. 5 Daniil Medvedev and No. 17 Karen Khachanov – beat Argentina in the Final Eight in Sydney behind two more wins from their top singles players, who both improved to 4-0 in singles at the inaugural ATP Cup.

“We made our job. All the matches were won in singles, which is amazing, and I think only Spain did the same so far,” Medvedev said. “It’s really great. We played great with Karen. Hopefully we can go all the way, but I’m really happy with the way ATP Cup is going for Team Russia.”

Medvedev clinched the tie victory with a gritty 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win against Diego Schwartzman, improving to 3-0 against the 5’7″ right-hander in their ATP Head2Head series. But the match wasn’t without its tension.

Medvedev was given a point penalty after striking the umpire’s chair with his racquet at 6-4, 3-4 and earned a lengthy chat from the usually soft spoken Marat Safin, the Russian captain, during the following changeover. And as Schwartzman ascended, the Argentines in the crowd showered him with “Olé, olé, olé, olé, Diego, Diego!”

“It was important for him to stay mentally strong, just hold on to what he can. Give the best and see what’s going to come. Not to go too crazy and not to rush with the approach shots, with hitting the ball too hard,” Safin said. “You have to be smart and sometimes squeeze yourself together and maintain yourself calm and see what’s going to come.”

But Medvedev refocused in the third set and broke Schwartzman in the eighth game with a whipping crosscourt backhand winner. The semi-final singles match was played on the baseline, which at times favoured Schwartzman’s speed and patience to construct points. Medvedev, however, had too much power and too many angles after two hours and 22 minutes.

“It was a super tough match,” Medvedev said. “Physically, [it] was really tough. I felt like I was not getting the balls I can. I was not hitting as strong as I can usually. So it made me problems. But that I won this match is the most important, and I’m really happy about it.”

“I started to get really pumped, aggressive, and basically making the shots, not missing. That’s important when you want to play aggressive. And I think that was working pretty well,” Khachanov said. “Overall, I’m really happy with my performance today.”

Khachanov raced through the opener, breaking three times and dropping only one first-serve point. Pella regrouped in the second set, but the Russian No. 2 clinched it with his sixth ace.

Alex de Minaur suffered an excruciating defeat on Thursday in the Final Eight of the ATP Cup, losing to Briton Daniel Evans in the longest match of the tournament, which lasted three hours and 24 minutes.

But the beauty of the ATP Cup is that when you lose one match, you don’t go home. It’s all about the team and representing your country, and De Minaur got another crack at glory, partnering Nick Kyrgios past Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury 3-6, 6-3, 18-16, saving four match points to help Australia reach the semi-finals.

“After I got called up for the doubles, I had already forgotten about the singles,” De Minaur said. “With the doubles win, it’s one of the best days of my life. Not gonna lie.”

Throughout the deciding doubles match, De Minaur and Kyrgios fired up themselves with chest bumps and enthusiastic high fives with their countrymen in the Australian Team Zone. After Salisbury missed a return on match point, the close friends fell to the court and rolled around embracing one another. And when they got up, Kyrgios picked up De Minaur and put the 20-year-old over his shoulder.

“It was unreal. The adrenaline has kind of worn off and I’m exhausted after that match,” Kyrgios said. “It was awesome. Today was probably one of the best moments in my career, definitely. Just making it through to the semi-final, the first-ever ATP Cup in that type of fashion, was pretty special. The whole team, we genuinely care for each other, and they were genuinely just so ecstatic to get through.”

All the players on the court — those competing, and those in their respective Team Zones — were emotionally invested in the match. The likes of Evans, John Millman, and captains Lleyton Hewitt and Tim Henman were on their feet every point, screaming at the top of their lungs in support of their countrymen.

“Players want to play for their country. There is no doubt about that. Tennis is such an individual sport throughout the year,” Hewitt said. “So for these guys to get the opportunity to play for their country, it’s pretty special for these guys. I said before we started this event we are very fortunate and lucky that it’s in our backyard, and we get the opportunity to play as a team for our country on our home courts. We feel privileged to be able to do that.”

There was news before the match started, as Hewitt made the decision to change his doubles line-up, swapping Chris Guccione and John Peers for De Minaur and Kyrgios. De Minaur had just lost a heartbreaker, and Guccione and Peers learned they would not be playing in the tie. But everyone chipped in to a memorable moment that will go down in ATP Cup history.

“I’m going to do anything for the team. I mean, I knew that if I was going to step out on the doubles court, then I was going to make sure that I was going to be fired up, ready to go, and full of energy,” De Minaur said. “It’s just amazing to see what Nick just brings day after day. He’s come back from an epic win against Stefanos, and today he just played clinical in the singles and doubles. I had a match that didn’t go my way, but still, I couldn’t have had a more supportive person after the match and even on the doubles court. So it was great to be on the same side of the court as Nick, and hopefully there is plenty of more times.”

Kyrgios constantly speaks about how much he enjoys the team environment. After his singles win to start the day against Cameron Norrie, Kyrgios was back in Australia’s Team Zone cheering on De Minaur by the end of the first set. After every great shot in the doubles, Kyrgios waved at the crowd to get them involved.

“It was so much going on. The crowd was amazing. The atmosphere. There was so much going on. I just tried to stay in the moment,” Kyrgios said. “We had a match point, and we didn’t take it, and I didn’t even bother thinking about that again. It was just such an epic match that I was just always thinking of the next point. The stars aligned on that doubles for us. I thought Evo got pretty lucky in some cases in their singles match. Some luck had to go in our way in that doubles.”

All of this happened as the players were competing for more than themselves. Throughout the year when a player loses, they disappoint themselves. At the ATP Cup, they play for the love of country. De Minaur and Kyrgios certainly embraced that on Ken Rosewall Arena.

“When you’re playing for your country, you’ve always got those added nerves. And it’s tougher when things don’t go your way. I was just incredibly proud of the whole team, and everyone out there had my back for the whole match and even after the match,” De Minaur said. “[John] Peersy and [Chris] Gucc[ione], they were coaching us on the bench, telling us what to expect and what to be ready for, and what happened today was just completely a team effort. We couldn’t have done it with anybody else.”

Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios saved four match points to defeat Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury 3-6, 6-3, 18-16 on Thursday afternoon, giving Australia a 2-1 victory against Great Britain and sending their country to the semi-finals of the inaugural ATP Cup.

After Salisbury missed a backhand return on Australia’s fifth match point, the Brits challenged whether the serve landed on the service line. And once confirmed, De Minaur and Kyrgios fell onto the court in an embrace, before getting up to shake hands. Kyrgios then quickly lifted De Minaur onto his shoulders and paraded around in celebration as the Ken Rosewall Arena crowd erupted for their countrymen.

The Aussie victory completed a wild tie to open Final Eight play in Sydney. Daniel Evans beat De Minaur in the No. 1 singles match after three hours and 24 minutes, winning a final-set tie-break to level the tie and force a deciding doubles match.

Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt made a bold decision to change his doubles line-up, replacing two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion John Peers and five-time ATP Tour doubles titlist Chris Guccione, who won all three of their Group F matches, with De Minaur and Kyrgios. That switch paid dividends for Hewitt and the Aussies.

As expected, the crowd was fully behind the Australians, roaring after nearly every point won. De Minaur and Kyrgios also leapt into chest bumps several times throughout the match, giving every ounce of physical and emotional energy they had, with Hewitt and countryman John Millman among those in the Australian Team Zone consistently taking a couple of steps out of that zone to motivate the Aussies.

Former doubles World No. 1 Murray and 2019 Nitto ATP Finals doubles qualifier Salisbury had the edge in doubles experience. But it was the Brits who succumbed under pressure, with Murray missing a backhand groundstroke on top of the net on one of Great Britain’s match points.

De Minaur and Kyrgios hit some incredible returns under pressure, hitting back-to-back backhand return winners up the line past the net man late in the Match Tie-break to set up the match point that the Aussies converted.

And while the Brits did well throughout the match to put themselves in strong positions to swat away volleys at net, the dynamic Aussies unleashed some powerful and heavy groundstrokes in key moments to make life difficult for Murray and Salisbury.

Australia will play Belgium or Spain on Saturday evening.

More than 11,000 kilometres separate Argentina and Australia. But for Guido Pella, Diego Schwartzman and the rest of Team Argentina, the Argentine fans have made that distance feel significantly smaller.

“[It] was an unbelievable feeling. It’s like we are playing at home,” Pella said of the crowds inside Ken Rosewall Arena during his win against former World No. 3 Marin Cilic on Thursday evening. “So it’s amazing to step into the court and feel that, because we not only play for our country, it’s like we play for everyone. This is a very nice feeling.”

The Argentines needed to defeat Croatia to win Group E, and their fans certainly helped the cause. From playing the drums and vuvuzelas to endless cheers — “Ole! Ole Ole Ole! Guido! Guido!”, for example — there was plenty of motivation for the players to leave everything on the court.

“[Wednesday] I was really, really focussed and not thinking about that,” said Schwartzman, who defeated Borna Coric to clinch Argentina’s win against Croatia. “But [in] the second match against [Dominic] Thiem, a few moments I was enjoying a lot. Those moments you need to enjoy. You never know when it’s going to repeat, playing in Sydney with more Argentines than maybe Australian people in the court.”

Nobody competing at the ATP Cup needs extra motivation to represent their country. But hearing screaming fans supporting the players for hours on end certainly doesn’t hurt.

“When you step into the court and there are a lot of people watching you, you feel a little bit of pressure, more than maybe in the regular tournaments,” Pella said. “But I think tonight I felt very good, I felt better than maybe the previous days. So I think I played very good, very solid from the baseline, and I think I did a very good job to get the win.”

When Pella arrived in Sydney for this inaugural event, he expected to invest his own emotions into competing for his country. But he didn’t think fans from home would turn out in swarms to sing his name.

“I never expected that at all. I think it was a huge surprise not only for me, for the entire team, because it was not only here at the venue. It was on the streets. There are a lot of Argentines living here, having vacation here,” Pella said. “So it’s very nice to chat with them, because we are very, very far from home right now. So it’s very nice to see Argentines.”

The player hotel is in the city, while the venue, Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, is in the suburbs. But everywhere the Argentines have gone, they have had fans come up to them for pictures and to wish them luck.

“We took a lot of selfies the other day. It was very good, because like I said, we are very far from home. And to find a lot of Argentines who are here, who are living, who are on vacation in Australia, is very nice,” Pella said. “And also because I love this country. I like to come here a lot and it’s very special when I come here, because I like to play.”

Schwartzman shares the same sentiments. The World No. 13 has enjoyed the support throughout the city, on and off the court.

“We knew already since a few years ago what to expect here, because of the Argentine people,” Schwartzman said. “In the street, it’s really nice. In the beach, it’s really nice. In places around Sydney, it’s crazy how many Argentines we have, and here on court the same happens.”

Argentina will hope to parlay that support into success in the Final Eight. On Thursday evening, the Argentines will play Russia, the Group D winner, led by World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev. And although it will be a tough tie, they hope the crowd will give them the edge they need.

“It was amazing the past three days, a lot of people from our country,” Schwartzman said. “We are really happy to be here and playing like at home.”