Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas was named the Best Male Athlete of 2019 on Monday night at the Panhellenic Sports Press Association Awards.

Prokopios Pavlopoulos, the president of the Hellenic Republic, presented the award to Apostolos Tsitsipas, Stefanos’ father and coach.

“I would like to convey to Stefanos that all Greeks agree that he is a great role model of excellence and he deserves this award. To achieve great things you need three things: talent, soul, hard work. I know how much you have worked together, and you did it. You have shown that the new generation has enormous potential and without hard work, you cannot succeed,” Pavlopoulos told Apostolos Tsitsipas according to GreekCityTimes.com.

Tsitsipas won 54 tour-level matches in 2019, capturing titles in Marseille, Estoril, and at The O2. The Greek climbed to a career-high No. 5 in the ATP Rankings in August.

Lukasz Kubot made Polish history in 2018 when he became the first Polish man to reach World No. 1 in any discipline, doing so in the ATP Doubles Rankings. Kubot, who received the Gold Cross of Merit from Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski in July 2013, has long paved the way for his country, and he will try to do so again in January at the inaugural ATP Cup.

Before Kubot leads Poland in Group E, to be contested in Sydney, he speaks to ATPTour.com about which players from his country he looked up to, what he loves about Poland and more.

Which Polish players did you watch when you were growing up?
Well, of course, the inspiration was Wojtek Fibak, who is our famous former Top 10 singles player and Top 10 doubles player. The best moments of his career were in the late ‘80s, so he was an inspiration. We have contact today, so I learned a lot from him.

Besides this, there were a lot like Bartlomiej Dabrowski, who has the best record in Davis Cup ties, and also Krystian Pfeiffer. [These were] players I was always looking at and learning a lot from and I also had the opportunity to practise with them when I was younger.

If you could pick one stroke from any of your ATP Cup teammates and add it to your game, what stroke would you take?
I would take the serve of Hubert Hurkacz. Besides that, maybe also his backhand and the fighting and footwork of Kamil Majchrzak.

What are three things you love about Poland?
Everything. I think about the Polish food. The kitchen is very special and very heavy, I have to say. It is always great. Our Pope, John Paul II, was always making all the people together. It was very important for our country. Maybe the people as well, communication and supporting together.

Which three native Australian animals come to mind first?
First, of course, [is the] kangaroo, then the koala. What else? Is kiwi New Zealand? I just have these two.

What do you like most about Australia?
I like the weather, always. When you come back from Europe, down under there is always guaranteed weather. I have a lot of friends there, especially from Sydney where we stay and visit my friends. We stay together as a kind of Polish community. This is a very special thing.

Of course, visiting the cities like Sydney, the opera is always nice to come back there. Especially spending the New Year’s there is great, there are always positive vibes.

What team sports did you play as kid and can you talk about the happy memories of playing on a team?
I was playing a lot of football or soccer and a little bit of basketball. Soccer was very popular; we actually played in our neighbourhood with all the young boys growing up. We were spending most of our time on the tennis court, the basketball court or the soccer field.

What are your earliest memories of playing tennis in Poland?
I started like most of the players, hitting [against] the wall, just to hit and to feel. There was not much happening in the small city where I grew up. We had a coach with a group of players and we started to hit the balls. I was hitting [against] the wall for a long time… I remember a lot of kids with one or two courts, hitting the balls over the net with one or two coaches.

What will be the most fun part about playing ATP Cup?
Playing for the country. For sure, there is going to be a team atmosphere, sharing lockers and supporting your country is always very nice. For sure, we are guaranteed three matches and it is going to be a very good preparation for the Australian Open, which is great.

Lleyton Hewitt, Gaston Gaudio and Grigor Dimitrov will join a glittering line-up of past tennis champions, including former No. 1s Boris Becker (Germany), Marat Safin (Russia) and Thomas Muster (Austria), along with Tim Henman (Great Britain) as team captains when the inaugural ATP Cup gets underway in January.

Hewitt will lead the Aussies in Brisbane, with #NextGenATP star Alex de Minaur and No. 2 Nick Kyrgios committed to representing the home side in the brand new event taking place across three cities in Australia from 3-12 January.

“We’re in a tough section but I’d give the Aussies a strong chance of beating any team,” Hewitt said.

“The guys are really excited to be playing in this new competition, it’s a game changer and it would mean so much to all of us to take it out.”

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Becker, captain of the German side, is a former World No. 1 and six-time major winner, the first title coming at Wimbledon in 1985 at the age of 17 and the last 11 years later at the 1996 Australian Open.

The Germans, including World No. 7 Alexander Zverev, will compete in Brisbane against Group F’s Greece, Canada and Australia.

Crowd favourite Safin, winner of the 2000 US Open and the centenary Australian Open in 2005, will captain a formidable Russian team spearheaded by two of the fastest rising players in tennis, Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov.

Russia is drawn to play against Italy, USA and Norway in Group D, who will play their group matches in Perth.

Muster rounds out the quartet of former World No. 1 captains, leading Austria in Group E, bound for Sydney against Croatia, Argentina and Poland.

Known as the King of Clay in his heyday, Muster rose to World No.1 in 1996 and won 44 career titles, including 1995 Roland Garros.

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Henman, who inspired a British tennis revival in the 1990s becoming the first local player to reach the men’s semi-finals at Wimbledon in 25 years, will captain a five-man squad featuring three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, his brother Jamie and current British No.1 Dan Evans.

They will head to Sydney in Group C alongside Belgium, Bulgaria with Grigor Dimitrov as playing captain, and Moldova.

“As a rookie captain, I like the fact that we’ve got options on the singles court, and with doubles,” Henman said.

“There are always going to be Brits in Australia, so there’s no doubt we’ll have great support, and fingers crossed we can give them something to shout about.”

Also chosen in the role of captain by their top players is 2004 Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio who will oversee Argentina’s campaign, while former No. 1 doubles champion Nenad Zimonjic leads Serbia, and Apostolos Tsitsipas, the father and coach of World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas, captains Greece. Elsewhere, current World No. 55 Gilles Simon will captain France’s team led by World No. 10 Gael Monfils.

For 10 days leading into Australian Open 2020, 24 countries will battle it out over six days and three cities before eight leading teams head to Sydney for the Final Eight knock-out stages heading into the final.

Teams have qualified based on the highest singles ranking of their best player, with each team featuring between three and five players.

The ATP Cup champions will share in AUD $22 million prize money and a maximum of 750 ATP singles rankings points and 250 ATP doubles rankings points.

The full list of groups and captains are:

BRISBANE (GROUP A)
Serbia    Nenad Zimonjic
France    Gilles Simon
South Africa    Jeff Coetzee
Chile     Paul Capdeville           

BRISBANE (GROUP F)
Germany    Boris Becker
Greece    Apostolos Tsitsipas
Canada    Adriano Fuorivia
Australia    Lleyton Hewitt           

PERTH  (GROUP B)
Spain    Francisco Roig
Japan    Satoshi Yabushi
Georgia    David Kvernadze
Uruguay    Felipe Maccio           

PERTH (GROUP D)  
Russia    Marat Safin
Italy    Vincenzo Santopadre
USA    David Macpherson
Norway    Christian Ruud           

SYDNEY  (GROUP C)
Belgium    Steve Darcis
Great Britain    Tim Henman
Bulgaria    Grigor Dimitrov
Moldova    Vladimir Albot

SYDNEY (GROUP E)
Austria    Thomas Muster
Croatia    Luka Kutanjac
Argentina    Gaston Gaudio
Poland    Marcin Matkowski

Read More About The ATP Cup At The Official Website

David Ferrer (Retired: 8 May), career-high No. 3
Humble and hard-working, the Javea native gave his all throughout a 20-season professional career, which ended in May at the Mutua Madrid Open. Aged 17, his poor attitude frustrated Javier Piles so much that Ferrer’s long-time coach locked him in a cupboard. Ferrer returned one week later with a new attitude and resolve that ensured the majority of the 1,110 tour-level matches he contested became a battle of attrition, regardless of the surface or opponent.

Originally a clay-court specialist, Ferrer worked hard on his compact game to become one of Spain’s leading lights, highlighted by a run to the 2007 title match at the Nitto ATP Finals (l. to Federer) — one of seven season finale appearances; seven ATP Tour titles in 2012, including the Rolex Paris Masters (d. Janowicz); the 2013 Roland Garros final (l. to Nadal) and a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings on 8 July 2013.

Gritty and determined, the perennial fans’ favourite helped Spain win three Davis Cups (2008-09, 2011) and he won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, for third on the national list, behind only Manuel Orantes (33) and Rafael Nadal (84). Read Tribute

Marcos Baghdatis (Retired: 4 July), career-high No. 8
Remember the smile, the sheer joy of playing and competing at the professional level. Regardless of when you first watched Baghdatis compete: as the world’s best junior in 2003; his rise into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings with his run to the Australian Open final and Wimbledon semi-finals aged 20 in 2006, or the indifference he showed to mounting injuries that soon affected his peak-performance days, the Cypriot was box office.

With a game fashioned after former World No. 1 Andre Agassi, Baghdatis’ 22 wins over Top 10 opponents, including two Worlds No. 1s: Roger Federer (BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells) and Nadal (Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati) in 2010 were other notable highs in a career that reaped four ATP Tour singles titles, 348 match wins, and a legion of fans worldwide.

Today, with his wife, former WTA pro Karolina Sprem, and three young children, Baghdatis is already providing inspiration to another star, his good friend Stefanos Tsitsipas, who captured the Nitto ATP Finals crown last month. Read Tribute

Nicolas Almagro (Retired: 15 April), career-high No. 9
One of a long line of Spanish clay-courters, Almagro could often be fiery, a trait only heightened in long battling duels when his back was against the wall. But he also competed with a big heart and gave everything in a 16-season professional career.

Almagro contested 23 ATP Tour clay-court finals, from his very first ATP Tour title at Valencia (d. Simon) in 2006 to his 13th and final title at the Millennium Estoril Open (d. Carreno Busta) in May 2016, and reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Back-to-back titles against Top 10 opposition at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in 2008 (d. Nalbandian) and 2009 (d. Monfils) were high points, in addition to his 2014 quarter-final victory over World No. 1 Nadal at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Almagro, who also reached the 2013 Australian Open quarter-finals (l. to Ferrer), retired at his hometown ATP Challenger Tour event in April in Murcia, where he now serves as tennis academy director at La Manga Club. In a career cut short by a left knee injury, Almagro won 397 tour-level matches, rising to a career-high No. 9 in the ATP Rankings on 2 May 2011, during a season of three titles from five finals. Read Tribute

Tim Smyczek (Retired: 25 August), career-high No. 68
The American put down his racquets for the final time at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., wanting to spend more time with his young family. Now studying a two-year Master of Business Administration program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Smyczek is best remembered for his fifth-set loss to Nadal in the 2015 Australian Open second round.

At 5’9”, he was never going to overpower an opponent with his serve and was realistic about the prospect of Grand Slam championship glory, but worked extra hard to make the most of his game. Milwaukee-born Smyczek reached four ATP Tour quarter-finals, highlighted by a run to the 2018 semi-finals at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, but fell short of his long-held Top 30 goal, attaining a career-high No. 68 in the ATP Rankings on 6 April 2015. He won seven ATP Challenger Tour titles. Read Feature

For the second straight year, we tasked some of the best tennis photographers — Clive Brunskill, Julian Finney and Matthew Stockman from Getty Images, as well as ATPTour.com’s own Peter Staples — to share their favourite photos from a memorable 2019 ATP Tour season. As Stockman mentioned, “2019 was an exciting year to cover tennis as I really started to see a blending of the old guard with the Next Gen players.”

The photographers describe their favourite images of the year, ranging from Rafael Nadal on clay to Bob Bryan’s triumphant return from surgery, and share their many other selections in the gallery below.

Clive Brunskill: Rafael Nadal at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
Follow on Instagram at @clivebrunskill

It’s very unusual to get this type of shot and in this light! Rafa was lobbed and he turned to sprint back looking up at the ball. I’m just glad I was on a short lense so that I managed to also get the shadow and ball in! 

I call Rafa my lucky player. No matter what point I walk into his matches, he always makes me a cool shot. I’ve been very lucky over the years to get to know Rafa very well and do many exclusive photo shoots with him around the world and in his native Mallorca. He’s one of the greatest athletes I’ve shot in my 38 years shooting all sports and one of the nicest super stars on the planet.

Shooting at the Monte-Carlo Country Club is like no other place on the circuit and the main reason is the beautiful light. It’s crystal clear as it’s not hot enough at that time of year to have heat haze. It’s just magical light in the late afternoon. It’s also a proper tennis club set in a wonderful, magical location. It really does not get any better than this when the sun shines!

Julian Finney: Albert Ramos-Vinolas at the Mutua Madrid Open
Follow on Instagram at @julianfinney

Shooting in Madrid is very interesting, especially when working in an elevated position above the court. As the sun moves around during the day it creates interesting shadows on the clay court with different shapes formed from the roof structure. This year I wanted to work with these shapes even more and managed to compose a triangle shape using another part of the stadium’s structure to shoot through.

With Ramos-Vinolas wearing a nice yellow, being left-handed too, made this picture work and become an instant stand-out favourite of mine from 2019. A few minutes before or after this moment in the day and this picture would be missed.

Matthew Stockman: Felix Auger-Aliassime at Miami Open presented by Itau
For me, 2019 was an exciting year to cover tennis as I really started to see a blending of the old guard with the Next Gen players. To see the still rough-around-the-edges play of players such as Zverev, Tsitsipas and Medvedev on centre court with the true legends of the game, Roger, Rafa and Novak, is quite special.

I like to capture the nuances in each player’s game that makes them unique. My favourite images are ones that show the physicality, as well as the poise, necessary to compete at the top level of the men’s game.

Peter Staples: Bob Bryan at Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com
[My favourite photos is of] Bob Bryan after his first win with Mike since surgery the year before, at Delray Beach, celebrating with his wife Michelle giving him a piggyback ride watched by two of their kids. It was an emotional win especially as he had doubts in December that he would ever be able to play professional tennis again.

After many years of photographing Bob and Mike they were very comfortable with me documenting their celebration with family and friends, and I think it’s always in the back of their minds that there won’t be too many chances left in their careers to win with the kids watching. Bob spontaneously leapt on his wife’s back (apparently something they do at home) and I was lucky to catch the moment.I love his young daughter off to the left, hands on hips, smiling at her parents.

The 24 teams competing in the inaugural ATP Cup present a wide range of ages and experience on the ATP Tour. But the diversity of Team United States is especially noteworthy with its top two singles players, John Isner and Taylor Fritz.

The 34-year-old Isner and 22-year-old Fritz hold the biggest age difference between the top two singles players among any country in this event. Although they possess different playing styles and personalities, they’re aligned in their ability to thrive during team competitions. They will seek to continue that trend when they compete alongside Reilly Opelka, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in Group D in Perth, facing Russia, Italy and Norway.

”We don’t get to compete that often as a team, with fellow players cheering you on from the side of the court. Winning and losing certainly adds a lot of extra energy to matches when you’re playing for your country, but I’ve found it does help me to play better,” Fritz said. “It’s going to be great to play alongside John.”

Read More: Fritz: ‘Team USA Will Bring A Lot Of Firepower’

Fritz generated headlines this year by posting a career-best season, capturing his maiden ATP Tour title in Eastbourne (d. Querrey) and cracking the Top 25 of the ATP Rankings in August. His Laver Cup win for Team World against Dominic Thiem also marked his first victory against a Top 5 player. 

Isner finished inside the Top 20 for the 10th consecutive year, a feat that only the Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have also accomplished. The veteran American prevailed in Newport (d. Bublik) and finished runner-up at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami (l. to Federer). Isner also represented Team World for the third straight year and said he’s always eager to take part in team events.

”I’ve always enjoyed playing for a team. I’ve really done it my whole life. Playing in the team events… has been a joy for me and you definitely can get your competitive juices flowing after a pretty long layoff,” Isner said. “It’ll be pressure-packed on top of that, being out there playing for your country right out of the gate. I do think that will be a very good thing for me and hopefully it will bode well for the Australian Open next year.”

Isner has been the top gun of American tennis for most of this decade, finishing as the highest-ranked American player in seven of the past eight seasons. Although he credits hard work and staying healthy as pivotal to his strong results, he also believes the resources he’s had access to on home soil will continue to shape his success.

”It’s the greatest country in the world,” Isner said. “You have the most opportunity to do amazing things in this country and I’ve been afforded that opportunity through tennis. Everything you really want to do is at your disposal if you work hard, focus, make the right decisions and respect the people that you need to respect. I think that’s what I’ve done my whole life.”

Isner and Fritz have also been on opposite sides of the net, with the veteran American leading 2-1 their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. But now that their strengths will be united, both men believe that they can defeat any team if they’re in top form.

”Even though I can hit a serve, I’ve always admired John’s serve. He makes it look so effortless, but I know just how hard he works to develop repetition and rhythm, so when it comes to a match, his big weapon is on,” Fritz said. “I think the serve and power will be the key weapons of [Team] USA. It’s going to be tricky to compete against countries with two highly-ranked players, but that’s going to be the big challenge.”

Ivan Dodig is Croatia’s No. 1 doubles player at World No. 12, and the 34-year-old may play a key role at the inaugural ATP Cup. Dodig will likely partner the world’s No. 15 doubles player, Nikola Mektic, when their country competes in Group E action in Sydney against Argentina, Austria and Poland. Croatia’s other players are Borna Coric, Marin Cilic and Viktor Galovic.

ATPTour.com catches up with Dodig to find out which Croat he looked up to growing up, which shot from a countryman he’d like to add to his repertoire and more.

Which countrymen did you watch playing tennis when you were growing up?
Obviously for all us Croatian players, Goran Ivanisevic was the first guy. We were looking at him, he was our idol and I think many of us would say Goran was the main key for us to start playing tennis. He was a big inspiration for many kids and he is still the reason why I think many good Croatian players are coming on the Tour.

If you could take one stroke from any other player on your ATP Cup team and add it to your game, what would that stroke be?
I would take Cilic’s forehand. He has a powerful forehand. I think it is his best stroke. My forehand, when I played singles, was my weakest shot. I improved every year, but still I always did much better [with the] backhand. I was missing that forehand.

What are the first Australian animals that come into your head?
I know everybody is scared of the spiders there. Kangaroos.

What are the three things you love most about Croatia?
Sea, weather and food.

What do you like most about Australia?
I like Australia a lot. I always said it would be my second country I would choose to live in. It has beautiful weather, beautiful cities and amazing food. It is the perfect country to live [in]. Unfortunately for us from Europe, it is a little bit too far to travel in our sport but, in general, I very much like the country.

Which player would most likely be late for an ATP Cup dinner?
It is going to be Marin Cilic or Borna Coric. One of them. They are always a bit… It’s okay, they are stars, they are our first two players, so they can always get a little bit of credit.

The depth and experience of Team France have immediately marked them as one of the frontrunners to prevail at the inaugural ATP Cup.

Gael Monfils, Benoit Paire, Lucas Pouille, Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin look to bring France out of Group A in Brisbane, where they’ll take on Serbia, South Africa and Chile. All five players have experience in team competitions and thrive on the opportunity to represent their country.

”I played in all the teams since I was 14 in France. I played under-14, under-16 and under-18. To me, French teams are really important,” Mahut said. “When you play tennis, you are mostly alone on the court or sharing good and bad moments with your coach. For once a year, you are with your teammates wanting to achieve the same goal. It is what I like in team sports.”

There are no weak links in the lineup. France is the only team with three players inside the Top 25 of the ATP Rankings.

Teams With Top 25 Singles Players

Monfils returned to the Top 10 last month after an outstanding season that included an ATP Tour title in Rotterdam (d. Wawrinka) and semi-final finish at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal. Paire re-entered the Top 25 on the back of tour-level crowns in Marrakech (d. Andujar) and Lyon (d. Auger-Aliassime). Pouille recorded his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open and reached the quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati.

The trio regularly practise and spend time together during tournaments, creating a strong bond over the years that will only deepen during the event.

”I like being on a team a lot. You can feel the pressure when you’re playing for your country, so I’m very happy to play in the ATP Cup,” Paire said. “Monfils is older than me and Pouille is younger than me, but I know them well and we are good friends. It will be interesting to be on the same team.”

Mahut and Roger-Vasselin bring a wealth of experience and success on the doubles court. Their combined ATP Doubles Ranking is the second-best among the 24 participating teams.

Best Combined ATP Doubles Rankings

The pair first teamed up at the pro level in 2002 and quickly hit it off, sparking a partnership that has only continued to grow. They’ve won six ATP Tour doubles crowns together and took the title this October in Tokyo (d. Mektic/Skugor), in addition to reaching their maiden Grand Slam final as a team this year at Wimbledon (l. to Cabal/Farah). Mahut also enjoyed success this season with another Frenchman in Pierre-Hugues Herbert, prevailing at the Nitto ATP Finals (d. Klaasen/Venus) Australian Open (d. Kontinen/Peers) and Masters 1000 event in Paris (d. Khachanov/Rublev).

Roger-Vasselin said, “We are coming from the same area in France, so we grew up [together]. We’re almost the same age, so we know each other for a long time. It’s definitely better to win with a friend and it helps on court to know each other for a long time.”

The depth of France’s lineup even extends to their captain, Gilles Simon. The veteran player is currently No. 55 in the ATP Rankings, which would be good enough to play singles on several of the teams competing this year. With plenty of experience competing against his teammates and their opponents, Simon will be able to offer valuable insight that could help lead France to victory.

”I am really excited to be on the court with him on the bench… [He’s] a good friend of mine,” Mahut said. “Tactically, he is really strong. He can see quick on the court.

”We will start in Brisbane and hopefully finish in Sydney (as part of the Final Eight). I want to see how this works. I am really excited about this competition.”

Rafael Nadal just posted the fourth-best return numbers by a year-end No. 1 in the past 29 years.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers breakdown of year-end No. 1 players since 1991 identifies that Nadal’s 2019 season eclipses the other four times he finished year-end No. 1 in 2017, 2013, 2010 and 2008. The analysis comes from the ATP Return LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys NIA Data, and is determined by adding the winning percentages in the following four areas:

• First-Serve Return Points Won
• Second-Serve Return Points Won
• Return Games Won
• Break Points Converted

Interestingly, the leading five spots for return metrics by a year-end No. 1 from 1991 to 2019 are all from the previous nine years (2011-2019), showing a clear correlation that we are currently in the “golden era” of the service return.

Leading Five Years 1991 – 2019: Return Rating
2011 – N. Djokovic (180.3)
2012 – N. Djokovic (172.2)
2016 – A. Murray (172.2)
2019 – R. Nadal (170.8)
2013 – R. Nadal (169.6)

As a comparison with serving, only two year-end No. 1 players (Djokovic 2015 / Nadal 2017) from the past decade are also ranked in the top 10 spots for serving.

Nadal’s 2019 return rating of 170.8 was also good enough to elevate him to the top spot on Tour in the specific category in 2019, a place he has not occupied since 2016.

Rafael Nadal: 2019 Season Return Win Percentage & Rating

The return has always been a strength of Nadal’s game. Amazingly, at 33 years of age, the Spaniard is finding ways to squeeze more out of it, helping elevate him back to the No. 1 ATP Ranking, which he has now occupied for 202 weeks in his illustrious career.

Rafael Nadal: 2004 – 2019 Year-End Ranking & Return Rating