A productive off-season in Mallorca that included practice sessions with Rafael Nadal has left Casper Ruud feeling confident that he can reach even greater heights in 2020.

The 21-year-old will start the new year by leading Team Norway in the inaugural ATP Cup. They’ll face Russia, Italy and United States in Group D action in Perth.

Ruud spent two weeks in December at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, his home base since September 2018. He’s quickly climbed up the ATP Rankings since moving to Spain and said the academy’s motivating environment has helped elevate his game.

After a great preseason at the #RafaNadalAcademy, @CasperRuud98 is ready to lead Norway in the @ATPCup. Good luck in Perth! Vamos‼️ ?? pic.twitter.com/JBlXGAcvTf

— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) December 30, 2019

“I always felt like I’ve played with good intensity in my game and I need it to play well, but I’ve gotten that extra 10 or 20 per cent from being there,” Ruud said. “That’s the small margin that can change whether you’re No. 10 [in the ATP Rankings] or No. 60. It’s not like they’ve changed my technique, but they’ve helped with all the strokes.

“It’s motivating to have Rafa there and even Toni [Nadal] coming to the practices and pushing you a bit more. You’re surrounded by very good players.”

The decision to uproot can be difficult for some, but Ruud saw training at Nadal’s academy as a clear opportunity to boost his game. His family also realised what the move to Mallorca could provide and offered to join him for support.

“I had split with my coach [in February 2018] and was training at home with my dad [former World No. 39 Christian Ruud]. It can be good, but I need to get out sometimes and train with other good players. They asked me if I wanted to try it out and Rafa is one of my biggest idols, so I didn’t see a point in saying no,” Ruud said. “My mother, younger sister and father came down. My sister also started full-time at the academy, playing every day and going to school there.”

Ruud arrived in Mallorca 15 months ago with an ATP Ranking of No. 143, but currently sits at a career-high of No. 54. His 2019 highlights include reaching his maiden ATP Tour final in Houston (l. to Garin), beating Matteo Berrettini en route to a third-round showing at Roland Garros and qualifying for Milan.

The Norwegian believes he’s also benefitted from practising with Nadal and observing how the World No. 1 trains. The energy that the Spaniard brings to each practice has rubbed off on Ruud and added a new level of intensity to his game that could serve him well in Perth.

“If Rafa goes 100 per cent intensity in matches, he goes 120 per cent in a practice,” Ruud said. “He rips the ball so hard. He likes to play high-risk when he practises because it might be easier for him to slow down during a match if he needs to. That’s something which has been working for me as well. I’m trying to play a bit more loose during training, higher intensity, faster balls and working on things that you don’t dare to do in a match.

“When I practise with Rafa, he gets to push me around and I’m usually exhausted after a couple of hours. They’re tough sessions, but they’re great.”

The start of the ATP Cup — and with it, the ATP Tour season — is just four days away, and players in Sydney are ramping up the intensity.

Several No. 1 players were practising on the grounds of the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre on Monday, fine-tuning their games in preparation for the start of the 24-country competition. 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin and former World No. 12 Borna Coric sparred on one court, with the likes of Bulgarian No. 1 and captain Grigor Dimitrov, Polish No. 1 Hubert Hurkacz and plenty of others hitting the courts in hot and humid conditions as well.

Goffin has long been excited for this new and innovative event, saying in October, “I’m very curious to see [it], that’s why I’m very excited. On paper it looks amazing. A great place, great stadiums, it looks really good. So I’m really excited to see and hopefully it will be a really nice event.”

The Belgian No. 1 is ecstatic not just to begin his season, but to try to make his country and teammates proud.

“For me it’s nice because you play another time for your country. It’s something that I like. I always love to represent Belgium and to play for friends, for the team, for Belgium,” Goffin said on Monday. “It’s great, and especially competition like that, a big one to start the year with a new format, it’s something big and we have a lot of great matches to start the season. I think it’s great.”

One of the highlights of the ATP Cup is that there are a maximum of 750 singles ATP Ranking points at stake and a maximum of 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points available.

“First of course you play for your country, and if at the end you have some ATP points, it’s great also for your [ATP] Ranking,” Goffin said. “So you will play every match and try to win every point, every game, to win some matches for your country.”

Belgium’s first match will be on Friday at 10am local time against Moldova. Goffin will face Moldovan No. 1 Radu Albot, against whom he owns a 3-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage.

Striking innovation will be a feature of the new ATP Cup, which will launch the global tennis season in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. 

Tennis team competition will be showcased like never before, bringing fans closer to the players, and behind-the-scenes coverage revealing strategy sessions, match analysis and team interaction on a whole new level. 

“The ATP Cup is set to launch the 2020 ATP season in a major way and the event is going to play a pioneering role in innovation in our sport,” ATP Cup Managing Director Ross Hutchins said. 

“This ground-breaking new tournament has given us the opportunity to take a fresh look and put the players and innovation first across multiple aspects of the event, including rules, technology, behind-the-scenes access, event production and more. The ATP Cup is set to shine a new and unique light on our sport for fans worldwide and we can’t wait for the action to get underway this week.”

Visit Official Website

The 24-country team event will take place from 3-12 January in partnership between the ATP and Tennis Australia.

“The ATP Cup will bring the fans and players closer together, and on a much bigger scale, than we’ve seen before in tennis,” ATP Cup Tournament Director Tom Larner said. 

“The passion, spirit and excitement of team competition, with the players and captains striving to win for their country, and each other, is at the heart of the ATP Cup. Capturing that essence, and delivering it to fans whether they are in the stadium, watching on TV or following on other platforms, will be a major point of difference. 

“The new team zones, positioned in the corners of the court, will bring a highly visible support team to each player, with the captain, players and even coaches, all working together to both cheer their player on, as well as providing detailed coaching advice. 

“Everything will be captured and delivered in real time to fans, both in-stadium and watching on TV and online, providing a totally new insight into some of the biggest personalities in the game.” 

Top 10 ATP Cup innovations: 

1. Team Zones positioned in the corners of the court will bring the players closer to fans than ever before. 
   •  Team Zones replace player benches traditionally located by the umpire’s chair
   •  Equipped with access to real time statistics, data, insights and match vision, the captain, players and coaches can use an Athlete’s AI platform, and have the ability to bring up any points played according to specific match statistics at the touch of a button, as well as bookmark specific points for post-match analysis. 
   •  Each Team Zone can access ATP’s Second Screen, an advanced platform providing player and ball tracking data in real time.
2. Strategy Rooms will give unprecedented access to match analysis and debriefing tools to captains and their teams 
3. LED integrated Umpires Chair
4. New canopy roof at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, hosting both the Group Stage and Final Eight, and elevating fan comfort and experience
5. Video Review (VR) enables communication between Chair Umpires and VR operators and greater review capacity with six new and dedicated foot fault cameras
   •  VR is designed to assist with contentious officiating decisions such as double bounces, foul shots, touches or invasion. Following a previous trial at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, the ATP Cup will become the first FedEx ATP Rankings event in history to use VR.
6. A total of USD $15 million in prize money is on offer, including a participation fee and prize money for both individual match wins and tie victories. The ATP Cup offers more prize money than any other ATP event on the calendar.
7. Up to 750 FedEx ATP Ranking points are up for grabs for a successful player who is undefeated in all possible singles matches. Points are awarded for match wins in each round, with the number of points depending on the ranking of the opponent and the round of the result. 
   In doubles, an undefeated player who plays and wins all possible doubles matches will earn 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points.
8. State-of-the-art production to capture behind-the-scenes footage and rare player access capturing the players’ team dynamics, ensuring unique content across social media and broadcast throughout the event.
9. On court coaching is allowed for the team captain and competing players’ individual coaches, while fellow team members can assist with input during changeovers and set breaks. 
10. Full court LED screens surrounding centre court in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney will heighten the in-stadium experience and provide a dynamic platform for entertainment, replays, reviews and stats.

For latest tournament information, live scores, group standings and more, visit ATPCup.com.

When the going gets tough, the tough break straight back.

Dropping serve is typically accompanied with an emotional letdown. But for some players, determination triumphs over disappointment and the desire to immediately break straight back helps them actually break serve more than they typically do.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the 2019 season identifies Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were in a class of their own breaking back immediately after being broken. In fact, both players broke back at a higher rate right after being broken than normal and were ranked in the top two this season in this specific category.

2019 Season: Breaking Serve Scenarios For Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic

The data set comprises all players on Tour who played a minimum of 10 matches for the season. The only other two players in 2019 who managed to break back 30 per cent of the time or better were Kei Nishikori (34.21%) and Andrey Rublev (30%).

When you look back a little further and expand the data set to the past five years (2015-2019), a familiar face jumps up to third place – Andy Murray.

The Scot played 85 matches in 2015 and 87 matches in 2016, but took time away from the game after Wimbledon in 2017 with a hip injury that required multiple surgeries. He successfully returned to Tour this year and was voted 2019 Comeback Player of the Year.

2015-2019: Breaking Straight Back

Murray is the leader in this specific metric in two of the past five years, just scraping in for eligibility in the data set in 2018 with 13 matches played. That year he broke back a stunning 40 per cent (14/35) of the time. Murray’s abbreviated 2018 schedule started in June at the Fever-Tree Championships and ended in September at the Shenzhen Open.

2015-2019: Tour Leader Breaking Straight Back

Getting broken is inevitable. Breaking straight back is optional, and a lot of times it just comes down to staying positive in a tough situation.

Australian legend Ken Rosewall was joined by ATP stars Borna Coric, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin and Jamie Murray on Monday in Sydney to unveil the upgrades to Ken Rosewall Arena at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre ahead of the start of the ATP Cup on 3 January.

“I think it’s pretty exciting,” Rosewall said at the ceremony. “I think that it’s going to be some of the best tennis that we’ve seen here at the stadium and I think with the new facility here, with the new seats and the new roof, it’s going to be exciting for the spectators as well. I know that there will be a lot of great matches.”

The spectacular $50.5 million upgrade to the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre has included the transformation of Ken Rosewall Arena into a multi-purpose outdoor covered arena with upsized in-stadia videoboards and new seating. The players even aimed their phone cameras towards the sky to capture the centerpiece of the transformation — an all-weather canopy roof.

“It’s the first thing I noticed when I walked into the court. I have a lot of memories out here,” said Dimitrov, who reached the final of the Sydney ATP 250 in 2016. “I’m so excited to be here.”

^{Photo Credit: Jaimi Chisholm/Getty Images}
ATP Cup Tournament Director Tom Larner, Tennis NSW CEO and ATP Cup Sydney General Manager Lawrence Robertson and NSW Acting Minister for Sport Geoff Lee were also in attendance at Monday’s arena upgrade unveiling, sharing their excitement for both the improvements at the facility and the debut of the ATP Cup.

“It’s fantastic to see in this wonderful city of Sydney the global launch of the tennis season with the talent we have here today, taking place here in just four days,” Larner said.

Having completed a tour of Brisbane and Perth, the ATP Cup trophy has also arrived in Sydney. Its bespoke design is both a tribute to tennis’ past and a celebration of its future.

Made from sterling silver, the trophy’s symmetrical design consists of 24 shards, with each representing one of the 24 countries in the competition. The shards support a silver stem adorned with a hand-blown glass silver sphere, replicating both a traditional tennis ball and the hemisphere logo of the ATP Cup.

The trophy’s base is handcrafted from native Banksia hardwood and is finished with a silver plaque, which awaits the engraving of the first ATP Cup champion team.

The first match in Sydney will pit Belgium against Moldova on Friday at 10am local time.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and the rest of your favourite players have all landed in Australia for the ATP Cup. Check out our roundup of the best social media posts from the past week that show how the biggest names on the ATP Tour have been spending their time in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.

Djokovic arrived in Brisbane and is eager to continue his pattern of success in Australia. Serbia takes on France, South Africa and Chile in Group A.

G’Day @ATPCup! ???? #TeamSerbia #Idemooo pic.twitter.com/LFjyh2UNi1

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) December 29, 2019

Team Spain has touched down in Perth! Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez all traveled together and are ready to begin their preparations. Spain joins Georgia, Japan and Uruguay in Group B.

Welcome to Perth, ?? #TeamSpain!@BautistaAgut @pablocarreno91 @feliciano_lopez @RafaelNadal @WestAustralia | #thisiswa pic.twitter.com/jIBUzcNMpk

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 29, 2019

Medvedev went straight to work in his bid to lead Team Russia to the ATP Cup trophy. Russia will face Italy, Norway and United States in Group D.

First hit in Perth! @ATPCup pic.twitter.com/M1HOvPulNu

— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) December 29, 2019

Stefanos Tsitsipas and the rest of Team Greece are making the most of their time in Brisbane. They’ll square off against Germany, Canada and Australia in Group F.

Good night from #Brisbane ??! pic.twitter.com/vz1Kx8fItg

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) December 28, 2019

Kevin Anderson is ready to represent South Africa as he competes in his first event since Wimbledon.

Excited to be back in Australia and getting ready for the 1st ever @ATPCup! ??? pic.twitter.com/a0BsxbmPtz

— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) December 29, 2019

Jamie Murray hit the court with Team Great Britain captain Tim Henman in Sydney. Murray will team up in doubles with Joe Salisbury.

8am hit with Captain Tim. Think he approves of the sleeveless….result! ??? #backthebrits #ATPCup @ATPCup pic.twitter.com/NZq00Yhzho

— Jamie Murray (@jamie_murray) December 30, 2019

Grigor Dimitrov got his first look at the ATP Cup trophy and the new roof in Ken Rosewall Arena. He leads Team Bulgaria as they take on Belgium, Great Britain and Moldova in Group C.

“Oh that’s a nice one!” ?

Fair to say ?? @GrigorDimitrov from #TeamBulgaria is a fan of the trophy & the roof!#ATPCup | @destinationnsw pic.twitter.com/mKm3Jb4CqT

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 30, 2019

David Goffin has already spent plenty of time practising as he aims to guide Team Belgium to a big run in Sydney.

Gearing up for the #ATPCup in Sydney.@David__Goffin | ?? #TeamBelgium pic.twitter.com/8FIih77oHc

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 29, 2019

#NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur and team captain Lleyton Hewitt made it clear how much winning for their country means to them.

It means so much more representing your country, especially on home soil.

?? #TeamAustralia captain @lleytonhewitt and No.1 @alexdeminaur are battle ready for Brisbane. #ATPCup ? https://t.co/ejZgS9kBNl pic.twitter.com/0TNXirdSib

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 26, 2019

Team Japan has been dealt a blow to its ATP Cup lineup after Kei Nishikori announced his withdrawal on Monday from the inaugural event.

“Today, together with my team, we have made this decision as I am still not 100 percent ready to compete at the highest level,” Nishikori said in a statement.

Nishikori has not competed since this year’s US Open due to a right elbow injury that he underwent surgery for in October. Yoshihito Nishioka will replace him as the top-ranked player in Japan’s lineup. Yasutaka Uchiyama also withdrew from the event earlier this week and was replaced by Toshihide Matsui.

Japan takes on Spain, Georgia and Uruguay in Group B action in Perth.

Novak Djokovic touched down on Monday in Brisbane as he looks to continue his pattern of success in Australia at the inaugural ATP Cup.

The No. 2 player in the ATP Rankings will kick off his 2020 campaign by leading Team Serbia. They’ll take on France (led by Gael Monfils), South Africa (led by Kevin Anderson) and Chile (led by Cristian Garin) in Group A.

G’day, ?? @DjokerNole!

We can’t wait to see you with #TeamSerbia ?@queensland | @visitbrisbane | #ATPCup pic.twitter.com/dipAEnWOOs

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 29, 2019

“It’s great to be back. It’s been awhile since I was last here in Brisbane. I can’t wait for the inaugural ATP Cup event this year,” Djokovic said. “Australia always puts on a great show for tennis during January. Any tennis event is successful in Australia and I’m sure the ATP Cup will be a blast. I’m inviting all the nations to come out and support us, especially the Serbian community.”

Djokovic opened 2019 by capturing a record-breaking seventh Australian Open crown (d. Nadal). The Serbian’s other season highlights include saving two championship points to prevail in a historic fifth-set tie-break at Wimbledon (d. Federer) and earning a pair of ATP Masters 1000 titles in Madrid (d. Tsitsipas) and Paris (d. Shapovalov).

Serbia begins their pursuit of the ATP Cup trophy on Saturday against South Africa.

Playing in the ATP Cup will offer Nicolas Jarry another means to continue the arduous task of following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Jaime Fillol Sr. Beginning 3 January in Brisbane, Jarry will represent his country in the inaugural event, 45 years after his relative and idol took part in the former World Team Cup.

“For us as a family, it’s really beautiful to have a member in the world of tennis”, said Fillol Sr., World No. 14 in 1974 and winner of six ATP Tour titles during his career, which ended in 1985. “Obviously, I hope that Nico beats me. But I’m already history. My only interest is his happiness and that he enjoys all the opportunities this sport offers.”

More than anyone, it was Fillol Sr., born in 1946, who encouraged Jarry to play tennis.

“When he was very small, I would give him a racquet or something made of wood and play in my house. We would go to the garden and I would explain that the courts at Wimbledon were like that. We played in the hallways and I told him it was an indoor court. I talked to him all the time about tennis,” said Fillol, whose brother, Alvaro Fillol and son, Jaime Fillol, also played on the ATP Tour.

It wasn’t easy to convince Jarry because many other sports caught his attention as a young boy in Santiago. He played football, rugby, winter sports, cycling, gymnastics and loved skating and riding scooters. He even played volleyball, an inheritance from his parents.

“On beach holidays, they would take suitcases filled with different balls that we could play with. We even liked surfing,” recalled Jarry, the eldest of five brothers.

But Fillol Sr. was determined to immerse the first of his 17 grandchildren in the world of tennis. He took him to ATP Tour tournaments, helped him have his photo taken with legends of the game (including Rafael Nadal in 2005), and introduced him to the big names of Chilean tennis such as Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu.

“My granddad gradually convinced me to get into tennis,” said Jarry. “Little by little, he became my role model.”

Jarry grew up listening to the stories of his grandfather on the ATP Tour and his victories representing Chile in the World Team Cup. Fillol Sr. had a 2-3 record at the event, having participated in Kingston in 1975 and Dusseldorf in 1978. But there will be plenty of chances next month to add more triumphs to the Jarry-Fillol family history.

The 24-year-old Jarry, who won his maiden ATP Tour title this July in Bastad (d. Londero), is part of an impressive Chilean squad. Team Chile will be captained by Paul Capdeville and led by his peer Cristian Garin, No. 33 in the ATP Rankings, who is in a confident mood after playing some of his best tennis to win his first two ATP Tour titles this year in Houston (d. Ruud) and Munich (d. Berrettini). Alejandro Tabilo, Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo complete the lineup. 

“I’m maybe at the best point of my career,” said Jarry. “It’s good for me. Everything has been positive recently and I want to continue in the same vein.”

Another reason the Jarry-Fillol dynasty can be hopeful about making more history in team competitions is Jarry’s love of representing Chile. Playing for his country has always brought out the best in him

“To me, events where you play for your country have always been special,” said Jarry. “Playing tennis for Chile is a really beautiful thing for me.”

The 2019 season of Pablo Cuevas, his 15th on the ATP Tour, was special for many reasons.

The 33-year-old Uruguayan found some of his best form again and jumped from No. 90 in the ATP Rankings, his lowest standing since 2014, to No. 45. He finished runner-up in Estoril (l. to Tsitsipas) and also reached the third round at Roland Garros, matching his best Grand Slam result since accomplishing the feat in Paris two years ago.

However, the ATP Cup has been a priority for Cuevas since the beginning of this year. He views the inaugural competition as a significant moment for his career and Uruguayan tennis.

“Since the beginning of the year, I had expectations that we would enter, although I knew there was a lot of time. I was following the [ATP Cup standings] since the middle of the year and was more interested each time,” Cuevas told ATPTour.com during his preseason in Uruguay. “The first cut was with the first 18 teams [the week] after the US Open, but with 24 teams [qualifying], I had an opportunity.”

Uruguay faces off against Spain, Japan and Georgia as part of Group B in Perth. The Spanish team will arrive with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and World No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut, while Japan is led by Kei Nishikori and Georgia has a Top 30 player in Nikoloz Basilashvili. But the six-time ATP Tour singles champion has embraced the challenge and is confident his team will be in top form.

“For Uruguay, it is something spectacular,” he said. “We don’t usually face countries with great tennis potential. All the groups are complex and we are getting ready.”

Team Uruguay will unite Pablo with his brother, Martin Cuevas, Franco Roncadelli, Ariel Behar and 17-year-old Juan Martín Fumeaux. Felipe Maccio, who coached Pablo from ages 10 to 17, will serve as team captain. Martin, affectionately known on Tour as “Bebu”, said that representing Uruguay with his brother will be a meaningful moment.

“Sharing a team with Pablo is the best, It’s beautiful to have a player like him on the team. He’s helped me a lot with advice and when we play doubles together,” Martin said. “Since I knew we had a possibility to qualify in June, we followed the standings and he fought to qualify. All of our rivals are tough. We are preparing to arrive in the best way and to win matches.”

Although Pablo is not often in Uruguay, he represents his country with pride each time he steps on the court. The veteran has loved traveling the world throughout his career, but the rare trips back home remain some of his most treasured moments.

“When I go, I enjoy the tranquility of the country and the rhythm of life that takes. I really like the beaches it has and escape there whenever I can go,” he said. “The best thing is family and friends because I don’t have many opportunities to see them, so we have some barbecues and mates when I go. Those things are not negotiable!”