Tennis News

Season Portrait: Diego Schwartzman

Beginning today with Argentine Diego Schwartzman, ATPTour.com over the next eight days will serve up a season snapshot of the eight players who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. The series is illustrated by intimate portraits shot by British photographer Simon Owen.

Memorable Moment
Diego Schwartzman earned one of the biggest victories of his career in the quarter-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, upsetting Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard had won their first nine ATP Head2Head meetings, winning 22 of their 24 sets. But Schwartzman showed his marked improvement by playing aggressive tennis, overpowering and outmanoeuvring the best clay-court player in history at a venue, the Foro Italico, where the legendary lefty has lifted nine trophies. The 28-year-old won more sets in a day against Nadal than he had in nine previous matches combined.

Key Stat
Schwartzman led the ATP Tour in return games won in 2020 at 34.9 per cent, just beating out World No. 2 Rafael Nadal (34.4%). The Argentine played 40 matches this year and broke serve 175 times, an average of more than four service breaks per match. His career winning rate in return games is now 31.8 per cent.

Quotable
“I’m really proud because I did many great things in many different weeks this year. But also I have the feeling in my body that I have to improve, because I want to be here [at the Nitto ATP Finals] again.”

The Road Ahead
Schwartzman, the No. 1 player from Argentina, enjoyed a year of firsts in 2020, reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 final (Rome) and Grand Slam semi-final (Roland Garros). Now he will try to not just go further at those levels, but to add more trophies to the collection. The World No. 9 is a three-time ATP Tour champion, with his biggest victory coming in 2018 at the Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event held in Brazil. He will also try to improve his hard-court results — Schwartzman has won 53 per cent of his tour-level matches on the surface compared to 57 per cent on clay.

Tomorrow… Andrey Rublev.

Photos: Simon Owen/Wonderhatch

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Spirograph & dancing in kitchens – Advent Answers with Judy Murray

Tennis coach Judy Murray faces our Christmas questions in day 17 of BBC Sport Scotland’s Advent Answers series.

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Australian Open 2021: Delayed tournament to start on 8 February

The Australian Open will start on 8 February next year after being pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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ATP Issues Five-Week Start To 2021 ATP Challenger Tour Calendar

The ATP has issued a five-week schedule for the launch of the 2021 Challenger Tour. Resuming on Monday 18 January, a total of 10 tournaments in four countries will highlight the first section of the new season.

It all starts with a Challenger 125 event in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, as the city celebrates its 31st consecutive year on the Challenger Tour. Turkey will host three consecutive tournaments to open the season, as the tour swings from the hard courts of Istanbul to the clay of the seaside town of Antalya. The week of 25 January will feature the first of back-to-back Challenger events in Antalya, along with an indoor hard-court stop in Quimper, France.

The tournament in Quimper is followed by two additional French indoor events to kick off the February slate, including the prestigious 125-level tournament in Orleans and the 28th edition of Cherbourg. Hard-court events in Biella, Italy and Potchefstroom, South Africa join Cherbourg in the week of 8 February.

The picturesque mountain town of Biella will host consecutive tournaments, with a 125-level event slated for the following week. Located in the Italian Alps, the Piedmont region is also the new home of the Nitto ATP Finals in 2021, in nearby Turin. A second straight hard-court event in Potchefstroom will accompany Biella the week of 15 February.

A further update on the intended schedule beyond the first five weeks will be provided in due course.

SCHEDULE & DRAW SIZES
As part of a number of measures related to COVID-19, tournaments at the Challenger level will span eight days and feature 32-player singles and 16-player qualifying draws in 2021.

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ATP Announces Updated Start To 2021 Calendar

The ATP has today announced an update to the 2021 ATP Tour calendar, outlining a revised schedule for the first seven weeks of the season as tennis continues to navigate its return during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Confirmed details of weeks 8-13 will be announced separately, while all subsequent sections of the 2021 calendar, beginning with the Spring clay-court season from week 14, remain unchanged at this time, with all tournaments planned to take place as originally scheduled.

The opening week of the season will kick off with the ATP 250 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, alongside a new single-year ATP 250 license on hard court in Antalya, Turkey.

Australian Open men’s qualifying will take place from 10-13 January in Doha, and the allocated dates of 15-31 January will then allow for travel and a 14-day quarantine period for all players and support staff travelling to Melbourne, in accordance with requirements of Australian public health and immigration authorities. The controlled environment quarantine period will enable players to prepare ahead of a 12-team ATP Cup in Melbourne, played alongside the relocated Adelaide International, as well as an additional ATP 250 tournament, all held in Melbourne.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, will follow from 8-21 February.

ATP 250 events confirmed as not taking place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic include the ASB Classic (Auckland) and the New York Open, while the Tata Maharashtra Open (Pune) is unable to stage in its scheduled February week.

The Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event, will not take place as originally scheduled, and alternative dates in the calendar will be assessed for it to potentially take place later in the year.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “The reconfigured calendar for the start of the 2021 season represents a huge collaborative effort across tennis, under challenging circumstances. Together with the support of our tournament and player members, partners, and Tennis Australia, we have been able to adapt and create an exciting start to the season. Health and safety will continue to be paramount as we navigate the challenges ahead, and I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment to finding solutions to launch our 2021 season.”

The ATP will continue to assess opportunities for additional single-year licenses to be scheduled in the first quarter of 2021 and will communicate any additions once confirmed.

The ATP Challenger Tour season will begin the week of January 18, following the completion of Australian Open qualifying.

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