Tennis News

Dimitrov, Isner & Opelka To Lead Inaugural Dallas Field

Former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov and Americans John Isner and Reilly Opelka will lead the field at the inaugural Dallas Open, to be held 6-13 February 2022 at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex at Southern Methodist University, the tournament announced Tuesday.

The trio, which boasts 26 ATP Tour titles between them, brings star power to the Dallas ATP 250, which has relocated from New York. Tournament Director Peter Lebedevs is thrilled with the committed players and the local reaction in Texas.

“The reception the Dallas Open has received from the community thus far has been incredible. We are thrilled to have Grigor, John and Reilly lead our player field, and hope to make additional announcements on player commitments in the coming weeks,” Lebedevs said. “After quickly selling out of our VIP Boxes and Forty-Love Suite, we are excited to now have individual tickets on sale for fans who want to be a part of the inaugural tournament.”

Dimitrov has won on the biggest stages in tennis, highlighted by his dream run to the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals trophy. The Bulgarian also earned ATP Masters 1000 glory at the 2017 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

^{John Isner promoted the Dallas Open at a Texas Rangers game earlier this year. Credit: Kelly Gavin/Texas Rangers.}
It will be a special tournament for Isner, who resides in Dallas. The American frequents SMU for practice when in town, and he will try to lift his 14th ATP 250 trophy in the United States.

Isner is also serving as host for the inaugural Dallas Open, and the Isner Family Foundation, established by Isner and his family, will serve as a non-profit partner for the event.

“It’s incredibly nice. It’s very lucky for me to have this tournament coming here so close to home. I practise there all the time,” Isner said earlier this year. “I’m lucky in the sense that I kind of have a couple of hometown events. Atlanta is one, and here in Dallas. It’s good.”

Opelka, like Isner, has quickly become one of the most difficult opponents to face on Tour. The American earned his first tour-level crown at this event in 2019 when it was held on Long Island. He has since climbed as high as No. 19 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Tournament organisers have also announced a singles main draw wild card for SMU standout Caleb Chakravarthi, who will headline the Dallas Open’s College Night on 7 February. The SMU senior is a two-time team captain.

“As part of GF Sports & Entertainment’s commitment to growing the game of tennis and supporting the next generation of American players, we are excited to have Caleb headline our College Night and showcase his talent on a professional stage,” Lebedevs said.

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Emma Raducanu named WTA newcomer of the year

British number one Emma Raducanu has been named newcomer of the year by the Women’s Tennis Association.

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Novak Djokovic named in Serbia's ATP Cup team despite vaccine uncertainty

Novak Djokovic is named in Serbia’s team for the ATP Cup in Sydney despite uncertainty over his vaccination status.

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Rivalries Of 2021: Medvedev vs. Zverev

Continuing our Best of 2021 Season In Review series, ATPTour.com revisits the biggest rivalries of 2019. Today we feature Daniil Medvedev vs. Alexander Zverev

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev headed into 2021 with the same goal as they looked to close the gap on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and capture their first major titles.

The pair, however, would also have to overcome each other if they wanted to lift the biggest trophies on Tour, with Medvedev holding the edge entering the year, having won their past two meetings.

In 2021, It did not take long for the two to renew their rivalry.

ATP Cup, SF, Medvedev d. Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
In just the first week of the season, Medvedev and Zverev met in Melbourne as they competed for Russia and Germany respectively at the ATP Cup.

The World No. 2 had swept aside Diego Schwartzman and Kei Nishikori in his opening two matches of the year, while Zverev had downed Denis Shapovalov before he lost to Novak Djokovic in three sets.

Playing under the closed roof on Rod Laver Arena, Medvedev played patiently as he overcame a serving onslaught from the 24-year-old by adjusting his return position, standing deeper behind the baseline to rally from a break down in the second set. In a tight decider, a double fault from Zverev gave Medvedev the late break at 6-5 and from there he secured victory, fending off five break points in his final service game to win.

“When it’s against Sascha and you are 6-3, 3-2 break down, many times you’re going to lose a match,” Medvedev said. “But I needed to keep my chances alive for the team first of all, for the country. I just tried to stay there, got a bit tight maybe. I just did my job and I’m really happy about it.”

Rolex Paris Masters, SF, Medvedev d. Zverev 6-2, 6-2
After nine months, Medvedev and Zverev faced off once again in Paris in November at the final ATP Masters 1000 event of the season. In that time, the German had captured titles in Madrid and Cincinnati and won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Medvedev had not fared too badly either, earning his maiden major title at the US Open, while also triumphing in Marseille, Mallorca and Toronto.

Despite Zverev entering the match on an eight-match winning streak, the German looked flat, and it was the Russian who controlled proceedings throughout in the French capital. Medvedev saved all three break points he faced and soaked up the German’s powerful hitting, committing just eight unforced errors to level their ATP Head2Head series at 5-5.

“We had a tough match,” Medvedev said. “Sometimes the score doesn’t show exactly what happened on the court. I am happy to have this score, but he had 2-1, 15/40 in the first set on my serve. I think this first break of serve when you play Sascha is really important because he gains confidence. I am really happy I managed to raise my level throughout the match and I didn’t make too many unforced errors.”

Nitto ATP Finals, Round Robin, Medvedev d. Zverev 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(6)
In one of the matches of the season, Medvedev and Zverev went blow-to-blow for two hours and 35 minutes in group play in Turin, before the Russian once again came out on top.

Both came into the match holding a 1-0 round-robin record after Medvedev downed Hubert Hurkacz, while Zverev had led Matteo Berrettini by a set before the Italian was forced to retire due to injury.

The pair, who also met in the round-robin stage at the season finale in 2020, played attacking tennis, with Medvedev successfully soaking up the German’s heavy-hitting. Medvedev looked to attack Zverev’s backhand and did so successfully as he dominated the backhand exchanges to secure victory in front of a raucous crowd at the Pala Alpitour in Turin to reach the semi-finals.

In a tense third-set tie-break, Medvedev found a deep return on his backhand to move 6/4 ahead, but Zverev stepped up to save both match points as Medvedev attempted to serve and volley. However, it only delayed the outcome, with Medvedev sealing victory on his third match point when Zverev hit a backhand into the net.

“Definitely one of the matches to remember,” Medvedev said. “When you win 8/6 in the tie-break in the third, it was 4/2 for him so I was like ‘Okay, he serves a few aces it’s done’. I made it 6/4 and I was like ‘Okay, that’s my moment now’. It’s back to 6/6, you get really tight, because I wanted to make a brave move on the 6/5 second serve and volley, didn’t work out at all. If I lose the match because of this it’s going to be tough… Just an amazing feeling.”

Nitto ATP Finals, Final, Zverev d. Medvedev 6-4, 6-4
Having upset World No. 1 Djokovic in the semi-finals, Zverev had the chance to gain revenge against Medvedev just five days later in the final in Turin.

The 25-year-old had cruised past Casper Ruud to reach the championship match and many thought he would be the fresher of the two. However, Zverev produced a strong serving performance as he demonstrated his quality and grit to snap his five-match losing streak against the Russian and clinch his second Nitto ATP Finals crown.

Zverev fired eight aces, won 83 per cent (33/40) of his first-serve points and did not face a break point in the match to become just the fourth player in the tournament’s history to earn semi-final and final wins over the Top 2 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

The German also struck more forehands against Medvedev in the final compared to their round-robin clash, hitting 57 per cent of forehands, 10 per cent more than earlier in the week. It allowed Zverev to hit his potent forehand weapon more and he forced Medvedev to rely a lot less on his proverbial brick-wall backhand.

Medvedev was aiming to retain his title, having won his past nine matches at the prestigious season finale. But he could never apply pressure on Zverev as the German outmanoeuvred him to earn his tour-leading 59th win of the year.

“It was great,” Zverev said. “I won the [Nitto ATP] Finals, in the final against someone I had lost five times in a row, so I had to play one of my best matches. I am happy about that and happy to go on holiday with this win.”

Medvedev vs. Zverev In 2021

Best of 2021 Rivalries
Novak Djokovic vs. Daniil Medvedev

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Groups Announced For 2022 ATP Cup, Field Features 18 Top 20 Players

The 16 countries set to compete in the third edition of the ATP Cup, which will feature 18 of the Top 20 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings, were assigned to four groups at the official tournament draw on Tuesday in Australia. The team event will take place in Sydney from 1-9 January 2022.

Top seed Serbia, headlined by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, will lead Group A, which will also features Norway, Chile and Spain. Two years ago, Serbia lifted the trophy at the inaugural ATP Cup by defeating Spain in the championship match.

Second seed Russia, the defending champion, is in Group B, which includes Italy, Austria and home nation Australia. World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 5 Andrey Rublev will be their country’s top two singles players for the second consecutive year.

Germany, led by reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev, headlines Group C along with Canada, Great Britain and the United States. Fourth seed Greece, with Stefanos Tsitsipas atop the lineup, will be in Group D, which also consists of Poland, Argentina and Georgia.

^{Photo Credit: Jaimi Chisholm/Getty Images}
ATP Chief Tour Officer Ross Hutchins said: “There’s no better place for us to launch the 2022 season than with the ATP Cup in Sydney. The players have loved competing at this event in recent years and the 2022 player field speaks for itself. We’re delighted that fans will be able to see so many of the world’s best representing their countries in the opening week of the season and we look forward to a fantastic event.”

ATP Cup Tournament Director Tom Larner said: “We’re excited to host the third edition of the ATP Cup in Sydney in 2022. The playing group enjoy representing their countries and to see 18 of the world’s Top 20 players commit to the event is testament to that. The event shows off the passion the playing group have for this format and we look forward to welcoming all 16 teams to Sydney later this month.”

The draw was conducted in the ATP Cup studio by Australian legends Mark Philippoussis and John Fitzgerald.

This year’s nine-day event will be played in Sydney at Ken Rosewall Arena and Qudos Bank Arena. Following the group stage, the four group winners will advance to the knock-out semi-finals to compete for the trophy. Alongside the event in Week One, there will be ATP 250 events in Adelaide and Melbourne. 

Each country at the 2022 ATP Cup will field a team of up to five players, with each tie comprising two singles matches and one doubles match. The No. 2 singles players compete against each other before the No. 1 singles, followed by doubles.

Tickets for the ATP Cup will go on sale via ATPCup.com on Friday 10 December. The schedule will be released tomorrow.

Follow the latest ATP Cup news and live updates at ATPCup.com and on Twitter and Instagram.

LIST OF QUALIFIED COUNTRIES AND COMMITTED PLAYERS

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