The Newcomer of the Year in the 2019 ATP Awards goes to the #NextGenATP player who entered the Top 100 for the first time in 2019 and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour this season. There are eight nominees this season: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Miomir Kecmanovic, Corentin Moutet, Alexei Popyrin, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner and Mikael Ymer.

ATP Awards winners will be revealed in mid-December.

Take a look through the season highlights of the fast-rising, 21-and-under stars.

Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)
Began playing tennis at age 5 with his dad.

> Achieved career-high ranking 13 times in 2019, peaking at No. 17 on 14 October. At age 18 on 27 May 2019, became youngest player in Top 25 since Lleyton Hewitt, 18, on 13 December 1999.
> Advanced to first ATP Tour SF and final at the Rio Open presented by Claro as 104th-ranked wild card, making him the youngest ATP 500 finalist in series history (since 2009). Also reached the finals in Lyon and Stuttgart, becoming the youngest three-time ATP Tour finalist since Rafael Nadal in 2004-05.
> Qualified and won seven matches at the Miami Open presented by Itau to become the youngest semi-finalist in tournament history, and the third-youngest semi-finalist in ATP Masters 1000 history (Denis Shapovalov at 2017 Montreal, Michael Chang at 1990 Toronto).

“It’s been a solid year!” Auger-Aliassime posted on Instagram. “Truly blessed and thankful to be nominated among these other great players of our sport ?? Much love to all of you fans for supporting me throughout the past 11 months♥️ #ATPAwards”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain)
Began playing tennis at age 2.5 with his father.

> Achieved career-high No. 82 on 28 October after winning the Liuzhou Challenger title. Broke into Top 200 and Top 100 in 2019. At age 20, became the youngest Spaniard in Top 100 since Nadal, 20, was No. 2 in 2006.
> Competed at 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals.
> Defeated Taylor Fritz, Jeremy Chardy and Gael Monfils in second ATP Tour main draw to reach Millennium Estoril Open semi-finals as a qualifier. At age 19, became the youngest Spaniard to reach an ATP Tour SF since a 19-year-old Nadal won the 2006 Barcelona title.
> Went 34-11 on ATP Challenger Tour in 2019, winning titles in Seville and Liuzhou. Also reached two other Challenger finals.

Thank you for the nomination @atptour . Very happy of ending the year like this and quite impatient for what’s coming. ? pic.twitter.com/jiQe3QZJrC

— Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (@alexdavidovich1) November 28, 2019

Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia)
Began playing tennis at age 6

> Achieved new career-high ranking 15 times in 2019, peaking at No. 47 on 9 September. Broke into Top 100 on 18 March 2019 after reaching his first tour-level quarter-final at the BNP Paribas Open, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, as a lucky loser
> Defeated Ruud and Davidovich Fokina to reach the semi-finals at the Next Gen ATP Finals. Lost to eventual champion Sinner.
> Earned all 24 of his career tour-level wins in 2019, highlighted by his first ATP Tour semi-final and final at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya. Qualified and defeated No. 6 Alexander Zverev for the biggest win of career at the Western & Southern Open Posted his first tour-level win at the Brisbane International as a qualifier (d. Mayer).

Newcomer of the Year Nominee!

Thanks @atptour✅ pic.twitter.com/SaSaFgRXhi

— Miomir Kecmanovic (@MioKecmanovic) November 27, 2019

Corentin Moutet (France)
Began playing tennis at age 3 with his parents.

> Achieved career-high No. 80 on 22 July, soon after qualifying at Wimbledon. Broke into Top 100 on 17 June 2019 following Lyon Challenger title.
> Earned biggest win of career over World No. 23 Guido Pella to reach Roland Garros third round as a wild card. Qualified and rallied from two sets down to defeat Grigor Dimitrov and reach the Wimbledon second round.
> Won ATP Challenger Tour titles in Chennai and Lyon.

Who will be the newcomer of the year ? ? pic.twitter.com/guvziPluZu

— Corentin Moutet (@moutet99) November 26, 2019

Alexei Popyrin (Australia)
Began playing tennis as 5-year-old at Kim Warwick Tennis Academy.

> Achieved career-high ranking 13 times in 2019, breaking into Top 100 on 24 June and peaking at No. 87 on 29 July.
> Qualified 10 times on ATP Tour in 2019, tying the record set by Mischa Zverev in 2016. Among tournaments where he qualified were the BNP Paribas Open, Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and Wimbledon.
> Won a main draw match at all four Grand Slams in 2019. As a wild card, upset then-No. 8 Dominic en route to becoming one of three teenagers (Alex de Minaur, Shapovalov) to reach the Australian Open third round. Also reached the third round of the US Open.
> Reached first ATP Tour quarter-final in Atlanta.

Popyrin posted on Instagram: “Good way to finish the year, hard work paying off ?? honoured to be nominated ?? only the beginning #PopOnTop”

Casper Ruud (Norway)
Started playing tennis at age 4 with his dad.

> Broke into Top 100 on 4 March and achieved career-high No. 54 on 12 August. Highest-ranked Norwegian since his father, Christian Ruud, was No. 51 on 27 September 1999 (career-high No. 39).
> Competed at 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals.
> Runner-up in Houston, joining his father at 1995 Bastad as only two Norwegians to reach an ATP Tour final. Also advanced to semi-finals in Saol Paulo and Kitzbuhel.
> Reached Grand Slam third for first time at Roland Garros, where he beat No. 31 Matteo Berrettini in the second round for the biggest win of career. Qualified at ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami, Rome, Cincinnati and Paris.

“Honored to be nominated as one of the newcomers of the year? thanks @atptour !!?” Ruud posted on Instagram.

Jannik Sinner (Italy)
Started playing tennis at age 7 because his dad really liked the sport.

> Ended 2019 as youngest player in the Top 300 at age 18 and career-high No. 78. Youngest player in year-end Top 80 since 17-year-old Nadal finished 2003 at No. 47. Broke into Top 500, 400, 300, 200 and 100 in 2019.
> Went 4-1 en route to 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals title (d. de Minaur). Earned $372,000 in Milan — more than entire career entering that event.
> Defeated World No. 13 Monfils for biggest win of career en route to 2019 Antwerp semi-finals as a wild card. Became the youngest ATP Tour semi-finalist since Borna Coric, 17, at 2014 Basel.
> Made winning ATP Tour debut in April at the Hungarian Open as a lucky loser (d. Valkusz). Saved one match point against Steve Johnson in his ATP Masters 1000 debut at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia as a wild card. Made Grand Slam debut at the US Open as a qualifier and fell to 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka.
> Captured ATP Challenger Tour titles in Bergamo, Lexington and Ortisei, becoming the second-youngest player to win three Challenger titles in a season behind Richard Gasquet in 2003.

Thank you @ATPTour for your nomination for the newcomer of the year award! I’m absolutely honored!#ATPAwards #ATP #NewcomerOfTheYear #tennis #newcomeroftheyear pic.twitter.com/S2BNGJigai

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) November 27, 2019

Mikael Ymer (Sweden)
Began playing tennis at age 3 because of his older brother Elias, who is also an ATP pro.

> Achieved career-high No. 73 on 28 October after breaking into Top 100 on 30 September. Became the first Swede in Top 100 since No. 67 Robin Soderling on 4 June 2012.
> Competed at 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals. Made Grand Slam qualifying and main draw debut at Roland Garros.
> Posted 39-10 singles record on ATP Challenger Tour in 2019 with four titles in six finals. Won 13 straight matches overall from 13 September through 16 October (2 Davis Cup, 10 Challenger, 1 ATP Tour).

Ymer posted on Instagram: “Thanks @atptour ?? definitely celebrating this on Saturday????” 

Federer’s 100 Titles & 1,200th Match Win
Roger Federer became the second man in the Open Era to capture 100 singles title on 2 March with victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final. “It’s been a long, wonderful journey… I have loved every minute,” Federer said on court after his victory. “It’s been tough, but the sacrifice has been very, very worthwhile and we’ll see how much more I’ve got left in the tank. Reaching 100 is an absolute dream come true for me.”

Two months later, on 9 May, the Swiss superstar recorded his 1,200th match win over Gael Monfils in the Mutua Madrid Open third round and immediately set his sights on the 1,274 match wins record of American Jimmy Connors, who is also the all-time titles leader with 109 crowns.

Federer added to his silverware haul in 2019 at the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Isner) in March, the Grass Court Open Halle (d. Goffin) in June and the Swiss Indoors Basel (d. De Minaur) in October for 103 titles overall. He is also on 1,237 match wins – 37 victories behind Connors.

50th Anniversary of Laver’s Second Grand Slam
The tennis world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Rod Laver’s second Grand Slam of the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open titles. The Australian, who won 18 of the 32 tournaments he entered in 1969, compiling a 106-16 match record, spoke exclusively to ATPTour.com on the eve of each major championship in 2019, reflecting on his memories of his historic run half a century ago. Laver first completed the calendar year Grand Slam as an amateur in 1962, following in the footsteps of Don Budge, who first achieved the feat in 1938.

Exclusives: Laver Talks About His 1969 Grand Slam
Australian Open Feature: Wet Cabbage Leaves Keep Laver & Roche Cool
Roland Garros Feature: ‘It All Worked For Me Against Rosewall’
Wimbledon Feature: ‘I Never Looked At Draws, It Was In My Corner’ 
US Open Feature: ‘Unless You Played Your Best Tennis You’d Get In Trouble’

Fognini, Berrettini, Medvedev Make Top 10 Breakthroughs
Two Italians — Fabio Fognini and Matteo Berrettini — and a Russian, Daniil Medvedev, broke into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time this year.

Fognini, aged 32, became the third Italian in rankings history (since 1973) to crack the elite group (after Adriano Panatta and Corrado Barazzutti) on 10 June, and he was also the oldest first-time member in the Top 10 since 1973. Shortly prior to his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, on 28 October, Berrettini entered the Top 10.

“It is crazy, because we had to wait a lot,” said Berrettini. “Fabio won a crazy tournament [in Monte-Carlo], he was playing so good. He was looking for this achievement a bit longer than me. He [has had] a really great career. After winning an ATP Masters 1000 Best Of 2019: ATP Heritage Review, the Top 10 is the next step, so I was happy for him and now I am super proud of myself.”

On 15 July, Medvedev entered the fray, 12 months on from being ranked No. 61. “I am very proud to reach this step in my career,” said Medvedev. “Some years ago, I changed my life and really dedicated myself to this sport and the results have shown this. This is hopefully the first step of many more goals.”

Cilic, Dimitrov, Melo Record Milestone Match Wins
Thirteen years after recording his first ATP Tour match win, Marin Cilic became one of 10 active players to hit the 500 match wins milestone after he beat Ivo Karlovic at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow on 17 October. Just four days later, on 21 October, Grigor Dimitrov earned his 300th match win by defeating Damir Dzumhur at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The Bulgarian’s first tour-level victory at Rotterdam in 2009 against Tomas Berdych.

Former doubles World No. 1 Marcelo Melo became the 35th player to record 500 tour-level doubles wins when he partnered Lukasz Kubot to victory over Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the Citi Open first round in Washington, D.C. “It means a lot. It means I’ve been playing good for a long time,” said Melo, who did not know he was on the verge of the milestone before the match. “I’m very happy and the many people [who have been] with me all the way, for sure they’re going to be happy as well.”

Herbert/Mahut Complete Career Grand Slam
Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert became the eighth men’s doubles team in the sport’s history to complete the career doubles Grand Slam of all four major championship crowns on 27 January to clinch their first Australian Open trophy. The Frenchmen defeated 2017 champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers to add to their 2015 US Open, 2016 Wimbledon and 2018 Roland Garros titles.

“We knew when we won Roland Garros that it was the one missing, so for sure it added maybe a special motivation when entering this tournament,” said Herbert. “I think we wanted it, but we also wanted to be good on court in each match and we focused on the game, and that’s why maybe today we could achieve what we achieved here at the Australian Open.”

“Today, I didn’t have it in mind, because I thought I was sure it would have been really difficult to play if I was just focused on just to win this tournament, because it was the one missing,” said Mahut. “I was just focussed on the game, just focused on what I have to do on court to be good, because in front of us we had a really good team to beat.”

Herbert and Mahut became the first team to complete the Career Grand Slam since Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan secured their set of major titles at Wimbledon in July 2006. Herbert and Mahut reunited later in 2019 to compile an 11-match winning streak, including titles at the Rolex Paris Masters (d. Khachanov/Rublev) and the Nitto ATP Finals (d. Klaasen/Venus).

Mike Bryan Celebrates 500 Weeks As Doubles No. 1
Mike Bryan, who returned for his 13th stint at No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings on 16 July 2018, celebrated his 500th week in the top spot on 26 May at 41 years and 28 days. Mike was quick to praise his brother, Bob Bryan, who’d missed eight months of the 2018 season due to a hip injury, telling ATPTour.com, “It seems like yesterday that we won Roland Garros [in 2003] and reached No. 1.

“It’s a dream to hit No. 1, but to be No. 1 for so long I owe it to this guy. We’ve been pushing each other and never really taken the foot off the gas as long as we’ve been playing. We’ve always reached for more and never been satisfied when we’ve won a tournament and set our sights on the next one. There has been sacrifice, but we love what we do.”

Mike Bryan spent his final day at No. 1 on 14 July 2019, completing his 506th week. Together, with his twin brother, Bob, the Americans will retire from professional tennis after the 2020 US Open.

Djokovic Moves Up Weeks At No. 1 Ladder
Novak Djokovic, who began his fourth stint at the summit of men’s professional tennis on 5 November 2018, moved passed Jimmy Connors (268 weeks) for 269 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on 16 September 2019, and rose to third place for the most weeks in the top spot on 271 weeks, beyond Ivan Lendl (270 weeks), on 30 September. He completed his 275th week at World No. 1, before Rafael Nadal returned to the top spot on 4 November. Djokovic is now behind only Pete Sampras (286 weeks) and all-time leader Roger Federer (310 weeks).

Farewell To Former Stars
The tennis world also bid farewell to former players, who passed away during the 2019 season, including Britons Graham Stilwell (13 January) and Paul Hutchins (14 March), Australia’s Peter McNamara (20 July), 1972 Roland Garros champion Andres Gimeno of Spain (9 October) and Russia’s Alexander Volkov (19 October). See Obituaries Section

The stars of the ATP Tour spend much of their off-season training on and off the court to prepare for the campaign ahead. But Italian Andreas Seppi, who recently finished inside the Top 100 of the year-end ATP Rankings for the 15th straight year, also threw in some slapshots and one-timers with members of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche on Thursday afternoon.

Seppi is spending his third consecutive off-season in Boulder, Colorado, where he bought a house in December 2017. Former ATP Tour doubles player Christopher Kas, who is friends with Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer, introduced Seppi to the hockey star. They hit it off, sometimes going to dinner and even joining one another for a hike. And on Thursday, Seppi got an inside look at Avalanche practice before stepping on the ice himself to test his skills with Grubauer and fellow Avalanche player Vladislav Kamenev

“First of all, I want to thank the Colorado Avalanche for letting me see the practice and play a little bit with Philipp, who I know for a couple of years. It was really nice to be out here,” Seppi said. “My father was playing [hockey] in Italy, so he taught me how to skate and to play a little bit with a stick, but I never played with a team. I preferred tennis and I was skiing also, but I still like being on the ice and skating. It feels good.”

^{Photo Credit: Colorado Avalanche}
It had been more than seven years since Seppi had ice skated, and about 15 years since he held a hockey stick. But the Italian was excited to get a chance to share the ice with professional hockey players.

“It was a little bit strange, but it was really fun. I should go more often on ice, I think,” said Seppi before explaining how Grubauer gave him some pointers. “[He showed me] how to hold the stick a little bit, a little bit higher and everything. So maybe I could give him some tips how to hold the tennis racquet after.”

While Seppi promised to take Grubauer onto a tennis court one day, he brought tennis to the hockey rink, smacking some tennis balls on goal before swapping spots with Grubauer to see if he could stop the goalie from scoring on him.

“It’s pretty good in the net, seeing the balls coming to you. I can’t imagine how it is to see a puck coming to you, so it must be really dangerous. It must feel uncomfortable to be in the goal,” Seppi said.

Grubauer, the Avalanche’s starting goaltender, is currently in season. But the German would play tennis when he was younger, and he also uses it as part as his off-season workout. Something he had never done before Thursday was combining hockey with tennis like he did with Seppi.

“The ice, the court, the speed of the ball is similar to the puck, actually, so it’s not that different the way he shoots it. But it was really hard to see. It’s really hard to see and it was fun. I’ve never done that before,” Grubauer said. “It was really fun out here to switch the sport a little bit and try out something new.”

One is as hard-working as they come, a relentless professional who, in the words of all-time great Rod Laver, “won’t ever let a match die.”

The other admits to lacking the discipline of an Alex de Minaur, but is as powerful as they come, a talented player who, when playing in the right environment, can beat anyone. “He’s probably got the best serve in the game,” Laver said of Nick Kyrgios.

You will struggle to find two more contrasting players on the ATP Tour than De Minaur, who lacks an overpowering weapon but makes up for it with speed and grit, and Kyrgios, who has one of the biggest serves and forehands in tennis but self-admittedly lacks the drive that has pushed De Minaur to a career-high of No. 18.

But tennis has room for all characters, and both of them will lead Team Australia during the inaugural ATP Cup, to be held 3-12 January in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. De Minaur and Kyrgios, alongside John Millman, John Peers and Chris Guccione, will play in Brisbane in Group F against Germany, Greece and Canada.

“Tennis is great to have the both of them playing as well as they are now,” Laver told ATPTour.com. “That’s a good team.”

The only man to win the calendar Grand Slam in the Open Era (1969) has things he likes about both De Minaur and Kyrgios. About De Minaur, for instance, Laver especially appreciates the #NextGenATP Aussie’s work ethic. The 20-year-old, like Laver in his day, never concedes a point.

“I was always pretty aggressive. I said, ‘You are not going to beat me.’ You put that out there, and I think a lot of people think, ‘Holy s*#!,’” Laver said.

“Love/40 point, and you work to try to win that point, and if you do win it, the next one is possible. And so you’re putting something in the other guy’s brain that says, ‘I better be careful,’ and with that, you get more opportunities.”

Laver recalls watching De Minaur a couple of years ago for the first time. The teenager hadn’t grown into his 6′ frame, but Laver saw an “unbelievable talent”.

Since then, De Minaur’s peers have learned the scope of his talent and work ethic. The Aussie was No. 208 at the start of the 2018 season but finished this season at a career-high year-end ATP Ranking of No. 18. The two-time Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up (2018, 2019) won three titles this year, including his first at the Sydney International, where he became the youngest champion since mentor Lleyton Hewitt, 19, in 2001. De Minaur will target the Top 10 in 2020.

“If he gets a few breaks here and there he could be mentioned with the top players,” Laver said. “To me, he’s going to be a real force on the circuit and give the top guys all they can handle.”

Kyrgios has already beaten all of the top guys. The 6’4” Aussie has won three of seven FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings with Rafael Nadal, one of seven against Roger Federer and both times he played Novak Djokovic.

The 24-year-old Kyrgios thrives under the bright lights, but he especially cherishes playing with a team and representing more than himself on court.

“I think the way Laver Cup is, the way ATP Cup is going to be, I think that’s what tennis needs moving forward,” Kyrgios said. “I think it’s unbelievable, that concept to play in a team, and I think it’s way more exciting for the fans to watch. I think it’s easier to follow a team, as well.”

The right-hander had match point on Federer at the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague in 2017 and has gone 3-0 in doubles matches at the team event.

“Maybe when he’s at the ATP Cup, he’s going to really enjoy it,” Laver said of his countryman. “I think the camaraderie with the team concept he seems to like and enjoy. Because at the Laver Cup, he just showed it; he didn’t mess around when he was playing.”

A locked-in Kyrgios and a well-rested De Minaur next month could go a long ways towards keeping the inaugural ATP Cup title on home soil.

Tomas Berdych (Retired: 16 November), career-high No. 4
For the best part of 30 years, Berdych dedicated his life to tennis, leaving no stone unturned in his pursuit of excellence, impressive consistency and a beautiful game. Hard work off the court paid dividends on court with 13 ATP Tour titles, including a career-best performance aged 20 at the 2005 Rolex Paris Masters, where, as World No. 50, he became the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion since No. 57-ranked Chris Woodruff at the 1997 Coupe Rogers in Montreal.

Perhaps his finest achievement came in defeat, when he beat Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic en route to the 2010 Wimbledon final, but Rafael Nadal kept Berdych dreaming of Grand Slam championship glory. He played 52 straight Grand Slams — reaching seven semi-finals (or better) — before withdrawing from the 2016 US Open (appendicitis), and 64 straight Masters 1000 events (four finals) before withdrawing from 2017 Montreal (rib). Berdych broke into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in October 2006 and rose to a career-high No. 4 on 18 May 2015. He finished seven straight seasons in the Top 10 (2010-2016), earned 50+ wins in five straight years (2011-2015) and recorded 640 tour-level match victories. With Radek Stepanek, he led the Czech Republic to the 2012 and 2013 Davis Cup titles.

When a back injury began to hamper his peak-performances days in 2018, forcing him outside of the Top 50, the Czech’s time on court was numbered. In making the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final and Australian Open fourth round in January 2019, there was hope, however fleeting. Aged 34, Berdych ended his career in an on-court ceremony at the Nitto ATP Finals in London, the scene of his six straight season finale appearances. Read Tribute

Janko Tipsarevic (Retired: 18 October), career-high No. 8
As a big fish in a small pool, Tipsarevic was the world’s best junior with a 33-match winning streak. But as the Serbian freely admitted, his transition through to the upper echelons of pro ranks was a little more complex. By the time the astute and Dostojevski-reading intellectual Tipsarevic broke into the Top 10 in 2011, largely inspired by the performances of Stan Wawrinka, he was on borrowed time.

For two years, Tipsarevic’s star burned bright, taking his aggressive, counter-punching game to the world’s best to earn two 50+ match wins years and a career-high No. 8 in the ATP Rankings in April 2012. He helped Serbia clinch the 2010 Davis Cup and beat his good friend Novak Djokovic, then ranked World No. 1, at the 2011 Nitto ATP Finals and 2012 Mutua Madrid Open — among 15 Top 10 victories. Tipsarevic also reached the 2011-12 US Open quarter-finals.

For five years, Tipsarevic’s career was in limbo as he underwent seven different lower body surgeries. Would he retire? No, he fought back and recorded his first tour-leve match win in 570 days this March at the Miami Open presented by Itau. As a long-time role model for a generation of Serbian players, including Djokovic, Tipsarevic played his final ATP Tour event at the Stockholm Open in October, ending his career with four ATP Tour titles and 286 tour-level match wins. He has already begun work on franchising his tennis academy internationally. Read Tribute

Victor Estrella Burgos (Retired: 9 October), career-high No. 43
It could all been very different for the ‘King of Quito’. Seven years ago, he was nursing an elbow injury and contemplating retirement with 28 tour-level match wins to his name — all from Davis Cup Group II play for the Dominican Republic. Estrella Burgos never could believe his luck, forever playing with a smile on his ATP tournament debut aged 29; when he broke into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings aged 33 or when he won three straight ATP Tour titles on the clay of Quito between 2015, the year he rose to a career-high No. 43 (13 July), and 2017. He earned the respect of his peers and, aged 39, retired at an ATP Challenger Tour event on home soil in October. Read Tribute

Marcin Matkowski (Retired: 31 July), career-high doubles No. 7
As one-half of the world-class ‘Polish Power’, Matkowski partnered Mariusz Fyrstenberg (who retired in 2017) to become one of ATP Tour’s most marketable doubles teams, winning 15 titles — including the 2008 and 2012 Mutua Madrid Opens. The pair also finished runner-up in 2011 at the US Open (l. to Melzer-Petzschner) and the Nitto ATP Finals (l. to Mirnyi-Nestor). Rising to a career-high No. 7 in the ATP Doubles Rankings on 9 July 2012, Matkowski won 472 match wins and lifted 17 trophies. He retired aged 38 at the BNP Paribas Sopot Open in August.

The world’s top players will return to Melbourne Park in January, led Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic, who will be going for a record-extending eighth Australian Open title.

The top two seeds will be joined by [3] Roger Federer (SUI), [4] Dominic Thiem (AUT), [5] Daniil Medvedev (RUS), [6] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE), [7] Alexander Zverev (GER), [8] Matteo Berrettini (ITA), [9] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) and [10] Gael Monfils (FRA), rounding out an enthralling mixture of new generation contenders and experienced Grand Slam champions in the Top 10.

Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) returns on a protected ranking of No. 22, following a six-month injury break. Del Potro last competed in June at the Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club in London, where he fractured his right patella for the second time in nine months.

A total of 104 players receive direct entry into the men’s and women’s singles main draw and a further eight are awarded wild cards, while 16 places will be settled at the qualifying rounds from 8-11 January 2020.

“We are delighted to welcome this extremely strong player field to Melbourne in what promises to be a once in a generation event,” said tournament director Craig Tiley. “The very best players are back, there are records up for grabs and it is very possible we will see a new champion crowned on both sides.

“There are so many great storylines for AO 2020… Will it be the year for one of the young guns to stop Novak, Roger or Rafa?”

In the past decade, and with the exception of Swiss Stan Wawrinka in 2014, the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup has been won by Djokovic in 2019, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011 and Roger Federer in 2018, 2017, 2010 while Nadal won his first – and only – AO crown in 2009.

No. 71 Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE), [73] Vasek Pospisil (CAN), [83] Mackenzie McDonald (USA) and [95] Cedrik-Marcel Salvatore Caruso (ITA) join Del Potro in the draw with protected rankings.

World No. 18 Alex de Minaur leads the Australian men’s contingent with (30) Nick Kyrgios, (48) John Millman, (63) Jordan Thompson and (97) Alexei Popyrin all confirmed for the main draw.

Now in its 115^thyear, the Australian Open will take place from 20 January to 7 February 2020.

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.