Sixth seed Hubert Hurkacz picked up where he left off at the ATP Cup, advancing to the second round on Monday of the ASB Classic in Auckland with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

The Pole required just a single break of serve in each set and saved all four break points to advance in one hour and 47 minutes. Hurkacz went 3-0 in Group E singles play last week in Sydney, defeating a trio of higher-ranked opponents in Dominic Thiem, Diego Schwartzman and Borna Coric. He awaits the winner of American Frances Tiafoe and Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer.

American Tennys Sandgren opened his title defence in style with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kiwi wild card Michael Venus. Sandgren, who captured his maiden ATP Tour crown 12 months ago in Auckland (d. Norrie), picked up his first tour-level win since last year’s US Open. The 28-year-old will now have an all-American clash with fourth seed and two-time Auckland champion John Isner.

Brazilian Thiago Monteiro rallied from a 2-4 deficit in the opening set en route to a 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over Brit Cameron Norrie, last year’s runner-up at this event. He’ll play the winner of the night session match pitting fifth-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire against #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner. The 18-year-old is playing his first tour-level match since prevailing on home soil in last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals (d. De Minaur).

In recent weeks, Australia has witnessed widespread devastation due to bushfires that have ravaged the country. The fires have greatly impacted both the Australian public and the surrounding wildlife and environment.

In the tennis world, hazardous air quality in Canberra – Australia’s capital city – forced the relocation of the ATP Challenger Tour season opener. Tennis Australia officials made the unprecedented decision to move the Apis Canberra International to Bendigo, also the site of next week’s Challenger 80 event.

While sports may seem inconsequential in the face of such devastation, they can serve as an important outlet to combat grief and aid in recovery. As the surrounding region continues to cope, the tournament provided a moment of inspiration. With a total of 997 aces hit during the week, AU $99,700 was raised for the Australian Red Cross disaster relief.

It is not the first time a Challenger has provided tennis as a source of comfort in the face of tragedy. In 2016, the AON Open Challenger in Genova donated all proceeds to victims of a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck central Italy. And in 2018, the same tournament opened its doors after the iconic Ponte Morandi bridge partially collapsed following a torrential rainstorm, killing 43 people.

The Bendigo Tennis Centre was filled every day of the week, culminating in a standing-room-only atmosphere as Philipp Kohlschreiber lifted the trophy on Sunday. Kohlschreiber defeated surging #NextGenATP Emil Ruusuvuori for the title, capping a star-studded week in central Victoria. The tournament featured eight players inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings, including reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner.

The fact that the tournament was even held is a feat in itself. Engulfed in smoke, the city of Canberra has been devastated by the bushfires. With tournament staff and many players already on site towards the end of last week, the decision was made on Friday to relocate the event to Bendigo. Buses were provided for everyone involved, to make the seven-hour trek from Canberra. It takes many months to establish a tournament infrastructure at a venue, especially for a first-time event like Bendigo. With their timeline suddenly accelerated, tournament organisers at the Bendigo Tennis Centre were forced to have everything prepared a week earlier than anticipated.

They did so in impressive fashion, embracing the unforeseen circumstances. With last-minute hotels to organise, transportation to provide and food to coordinate, players were welcomed on Saturday, and play kicked off at 1pm on Monday afternoon.

The Australian summer of tennis continues next week with the Bendigo Challenger, as the city welcomes world-class tennis for two straight weeks. Located less than two hours north of Melbourne, Bendigo was an integral part of the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s. It brought an influx of migrants and tourism to the city.

Following Bendigo, players will head to Melbourne Park for the Australian Open, followed by two more Challengers in early February, in Burnie and Launceston.

The ATP Tour heads into the second week of its 2020 season with two ATP 250 events on deck. Italian Fabio Fognini is the top seed at the ASB Classic, while #NextGen ATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime leads the way at the Adelaide International.

Draws: Auckland | Adelaide

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN AUCKLAND

1. Top Four: The top four seeds at this event – Fabio Fognini, Denis Shapovalov, Karen Khachanov, and John Isner – are all inside the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

2. Italy Looks For Breakthrough: No Italian player has ever reached the semi-finals in Auckland in the Open Era. Top seed Fognini is the only Italian to have reached the quarter-finals twice, in 2016 and last year.

3. Air Shapo: #NextGenATP Canadian Shapovalov opened his year with victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev at the ATP Cup. He also stretched World No. 2 Novak Djokovic to a third-set tie-break.

4. Khachanov’s Hot Streak: The 23-year-old Russian went 4-1 in singles action at the ATP Cup. Khachanov is making his third appearance in Auckland.

5. Auckland Master: Two-time champion Isner (2010, 2014) boasts a 14-6 win-loss record at this event. His 2010 victory was the first ATP Tour singles title of his career.

6. Sinner’s Delight: Jannik Sinner is making his first tour-level appearance since capturing last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals (d. De Minaur). The 18-year-old Italian received a main draw wild card.

7. Defending Champion: American Tennys Sandgren returns to defend his maiden ATP Tour title. He defeated Brit Cameron Norrie in last year’s final, who is also back in New Zealand this year.

8. Hurkacz On A High: Sixth seed Hurkacz won all three of his singles matches for Team Poland at the ATP Cup. The 22-year-old defeated Dominic Thiem, Diego Schwartzman and Borna Coric.

9. First-Time Winners: Six of the 15 players who captured their maiden ATP Tour titles last year are in the draw. They include Sandgren, Shapovalov (Stockholm), Hurkacz (Winston-Salem), Radu Albot (Delray Beach), Adrian Mannarino (’s-Hertogenbosch) and Lorenzo Sonego (Antalya).

10. Doubles Draw: New pairing John Peers/Michael Venus are the top seeds at this event. Local favourite Venus took the title in 2016 with Mate Pavic. Pavic unites with Bruno Soares as the second seeds. Rohan Bopanna/Henri Kontinen and Austin Krajicek/Franko Skugor round out the top four seeds.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN ADELAIDE

1. New Kid In Town: Adelaide is a new addition to the Aussie swing this season. The city last held an ATP Tour event in 2008.

2. United Nations: Players representing 14 different countries are in the singles main draw. Australia leads the pack with four players. 

3. Felix’s Momentum: Auger-Aliassime is the second seed and highest-ranked player in the draw after with the withdrawal of top-seeded Aussie and fellow #NextGenATP player Alex de Minaur. The Canadian started the 2019 season ranked No. 108, but blasted into the Top 25 on 27 May, while he was still 18 years old. On that date, he became the youngest player ranked inside the Top 25 since Aussie Lleyton Hewitt on 13 December 1999.

4. Rublev On A Roll: Andrey Rublev will come to Adelaide directly after winning the singles title in Doha on Saturday (d. Moutet). The 22-year-old Russian has won 15 of his past 17 matches, which includes a run to the title last October in his hometown of Moscow (d. Mannarino).

5. First-Time Winners: Five players who captured their first tour-level title last year are in the main draw. They include Juan Ignacio Londero (Cordoba), Reilly Opelka (Long Island), Laslo Djere (Rio de Janeiro), Cristian Garin (Houston) and Taylor Fritz (Eastbourne)

6. ATP Cup to Adelaide: Eleven players in Adelaide’s main draw represented their countries in the inaugural ATP Cup. Fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta and Albert Ramos-Vinolas were part of Team Spain, which finished runner-up (l. to Serbia).

7. From Captain To Player: Two players who served as team captains at the ATP Cup will focus on their own games this week. Frenchman Gilles Simon competes in singles and Hewitt is in the doubles draw with fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson.

8. Doubles Draw: Reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah are the top seeds in doubles. Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo, reigning Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies and Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek round out the top four seeds.

9. Veteran Verdasco: Spaniard Fernando Verdasco is the oldest player in the draw at age 36. He kicked off the new year with a quarter-final finish in Doha.

10. Aussies Gone Wild: #NextGenATP player Alexei Popyrin, Alex Bolt and James Duckworth received main draw wild cards this year.

On the opening day of the inaugural Adelaide International, fans were treated to a three-set thriller on Centre Court as Laslo Djere defeated home favourite Alexei Popyrin 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4.

The 24-year-old recorded his second victory of the 2020 ATP Tour season after two hours and 22 minutes, improving his ATP Head2Head record against the Sydney native to 2-0. Djere arrived in Adelaide after a second-round loss to Pierre-Hugues Herbert last week at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

After opening his 2020 campaign at the ATP Cup, Pablo Cuevas saved three match points to overcome eighth seed Reilly Opelka 5-7, 7-6(9), 7-6(2). The Uruguayan withstood 36 aces throughout the two-hour, 18-minute clash and will face Aljaz Bedene or Tommy Paul for a place in the quarter-finals.

Alexander Bublik also overcame seeded American opposition, beating fifth seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6(4). Bublik landed 17 aces and saved all five break points he faced.

Following the final of the inaugural ATP Cup on Sunday, the ATP has announced a AU$ 725,000 (US$ 500,000) donation from ATP players towards the WWF’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund as part of the bushfire relief efforts.

The donation from ATP players was revealed on court by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal during the ATP Cup final trophy ceremony in Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena, marking the latest fundraising initiative that has seen tennis come together through a sport-wide Aces for Bushfire Relief campaign launched at the start of the ATP Cup.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “Australia plays host to the ATP Tour every January in such an incredible way, and more so than ever this year with the first edition of the ATP Cup. The devastation that we have seen across the country from the bushfires has been heart-breaking. The whole sport has come together to lend its support, especially the players who feel such a strong affinity with this great country. On behalf of all the players, the ATP is pleased to be able to play its part and we will continue to work with Tennis Australia on upcoming initiatives as the sport rallies together to support the relief efforts.”

Djokovic, President of the ATP Player Council, said: “Australia is such an amazing and welcoming country and it feels like home for us at the start of each season. To see the damage to wildlife and nature from the bushfires has been devastating. This donation with the ATP is on behalf of all the players and our thoughts and support go out to all those who have been affected.”

The #Aces4BushfireRelief campaign has seen many players pledge to make their own personal donations towards the disaster relief and recovery efforts, as well as raising awareness of the fundraising initiative through messages of support on social media.

Many of the ATP’s biggest stars, including Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios, will take part in an Australian Open Rally for Relief exhibition match at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday 15 January. All funds raised from AO Rally for Relief will be donated to the bushfire relief cause.

Donations to the Australian Red Cross bushfire disaster relief and recovery efforts can be made at www.redcross.org.au/tennis, while donations to the WWF’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund can be made at https://www.wwf.org.au/get-involved/bushfire-emergency.

Novak Djokovic was clutch for Serbia all ATP Cup, but no more so than on the final day of the inaugural tournament as the World No. 2 won two matches and clinched the team title for his country.

Djokovic teamed with countryman Viktor Troicki in a deciding doubles match to beat Pablo Carreno Busta/Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-4, in a match that finished a little after 1 a.m. Monday in Sydney.

Djokovic/Troicki fell behind a break and 1-3 in the first set but, behind a rowdy pro-Serbia crowd, reeled off seven consecutive games and Djokovic served it out, just as he did in singles earlier in the evening. Team Serbia rushed the court, jumping around with Djokovic and Troicki in celebration.

“I’ll remember this experience for the rest of my life as definitely one of the nicest moments in my career,” Djokovic said. “I’ve been very fortunate and blessed to have an amazing career the last 15 years, but playing for the team, playing for the country with some of my best friends for a long long time, you can’t match that. That’s just too special.”

The World No. 2 continued, elaborating on the support the team has received all tournament, during group play in Brisbane and at the Final Eight in Sydney. A total of 220,319 fans attended the 10-day tournament, and a good percentage of them were supporters of Djokovic and Serbia.

“I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like this on a tennis court… You carried us to victory and we owe you a big, big thanks,” Djokovic said. “We are part of an individual sport where we play by ourselves. But even when we were playing singles it never felt like it was only you out there. You always have a team in your corner giving you strength and focus. This was the highlight of the competition, along with the support of fans and the flags.”

Troicki was similarly emotional about winning the team title with his boyhood friend. As an eight-year-old, Djokovic played his second-ever competitive match against Troicki, a 9-1 loss.

“I want to thank Novak for playing with me again. It was a great experience like always. I remember playing with him since we were nine, 10. To share such a moment on the court with him, I cannot describe it with words. As you said, I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” Troicki said.

Djokovic forced the deciding doubles after beating Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6(4). Nadal and Spain opted for the World No. 1 not to play doubles. 

“I have been playing a lot of tennis the last couple of days. My teammates have been playing great yesterday. My level of energy is a little bit lower than usual, because I played long yesterday, very long before yesterday, very long in [Perth] the last day,” Nadal said.

“So it’s a team decision, and we believe in our team. That’s why we had success in the past, because we were able to give the confidence to the rest of the players, and we give the confidence to Feliciano and Pablo.”

Earlier, Roberto Bautista Agut improved to 6-0 at the ATP Cup and gave Spain a 1-0 lead with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.

Novak Djokovic prolonged his mastery over World No. 1 Rafael Nadal on hard courts, and Serbia and Spain will play a deciding doubles match for the ATP Cup title on Sunday night in Sydney.

Djokovic won his ninth consecutive match on hard courts against Nadal and extended his set win streak to 19 (since 2013 US Open final) against the World No. 1 with the 6-2, 7-6(4) win. The World No. 2 now leads Open Era’s most prolific head-to-head series 29-26.

Djokovic dominated from the start, putting Nadal on the defensive with his return and especially during backhand-to-forehand rallies as Nadal struggled to keep pace. The Spaniard’s backhand slice did little to rattle Djokovic, and when the Spaniard was settled in on defence, Djokovic would deliver a drop shot that would leave the World No. 1 reeling.

Djokovic broke in the opening and fifth games to roars from the pro-Serbia crowd. The trumpets blared and flags waved before the World No. 2 served the set out to love behind four consecutive aces.

Nadal saw his first five break points of the match in the sixth game of the second set, as Djokovic served 2-3, 0/40. But as the outnumbered yet vocal Spanish fans screamed, Djokovic erased them all, the final on a backhand-to-forehand rally that ended with a Nadal forehand shank.

“Ser-bi-a! Ser-bi-a! Ser-bi-a!” the fans roared.

All ATP Cup, in Brisbane and Sydney, Djokovic and his teammates have been bolstered by the thousands of Serbians living in Australia and rooting for their home country. The marquee matchup of the final was their best showing yet.

In the second set, Nadal hit over his backhand more frequently and held throughout, including at 5-5 when he erased two break points.

But in the tie-break, Djokovic returned to his old reliable, blasting backhands to Nadal’s forehand corner for a mini-break at 4/4 and served it out two points later.

The two are expected to return to the court now for the deciding doubles. Serbia is expected to play Djokovic/Troicki against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta/Nadal.