Emma Raducanu withdraws Melbourne Summer Set after Covid-19 isolation
US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdraws from this week’s Melbourne Summer Set, a warm-up event for the Australian Open.
US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdraws from this week’s Melbourne Summer Set, a warm-up event for the Australian Open.
Gael Monfils will look to capture his 11th ATP Tour title next week at the Adelaide International 1, but may need to beat the likes of Karen Khachanov, Marin Cilic and Frances Tiafoe. The ATP 250 event begins on 3 January.
Monfils, the top seed at the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, will face Juan Manuel Cerundolo or Alex Bolt in his first match of the 2022 ATP Tour season. The charismatic French star may then face sixth seed Tommy Paul, who won the Stockholm Open title in November, or #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti. Monfils beat Musetti 7-6(2), 6-4 in a hard-fought Vienna clash in October.
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Second seed Khachanov, who last lifted a trophy at the 2018 Rolex Paris Masters, comes up against Steve Johnson or Aleksandar Vukic in the second round and also has Cilic, fifth seed Marton Fucsovics and seventh seed Laslo Djere in the bottom half of the draw. Third seed Cilic clinched the Stuttgart and St. Petersburg crowns last year and faces Thiago Monteiro or Daniel Altmaier in the Adelaide second round.
In a standout first-round encounter, John Millman will challenge fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis for the first time at tour-level. The winner will play fourth seed Tiafoe.
Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, and Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen headline the doubles field in Adelaide.
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas has withdrawn from his blockbuster showdown against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz at the ATP Cup on Saturday evening due to a right elbow injury. Aristotelis Thanos has stepped in to face Hurkacz.
Tsitsipas withdrew from the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals a month-and-a-half ago after one match due to the same elbow injury.
“The recovery from my elbow surgery in November is on track for Melbourne and today was a precautionary step to make sure I make Melbourne,” Tsitsipas said. “We will see day by day, match by match until then.”
Tsitsipas has only withdrawn from this opening match in Group D play. Greece’s next tie will be on Monday evening against Argentina.
Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak defeated Greece’s Michail Pervolarakis 6-1, 6-4 to give his country a 1-0 lead.
Hubert Hurkacz and Kamil Majchrzak both helped Poland to its first Group D victory on Saturday against Greece at the ATP Cup.
Hurkacz and his coach, Craig Boynton, scrambled when news filtered through late on that Stefanos Tsitsipas, who they had prepared to face in the No. 1 singles match, was sidelined by a right elbow injury. But Hurkacz quickly settled on Qudos Bank Arena to overcome Tsitsipas’ replacement, 20-year-old Aristotelis Thanos, 6-1, 6-2 and complete a 2-0 tie win.
In the No. 2 singles match, World No. 117 Majchrzak played with confidence to defeat Michail Pervolarakis 6-1, 6-4 in 79 minutes. Hurkacz later completed a highly professional performance over Thanos, which included 10 winners in the 54-minute encounter.
“I was expecting to play Stefanos and I was preparing tactics with my coach and Marcin [Matkowski], so it was difficult when I found out,” said Hurkacz. “I’d never played him before, or seen him play. He had a big serve and fortunately I was returning quite well and put pressure on him. It’s great to be back in Sydney.”
On Tuesday, Poland faces Georgia and Greece meets Argentina. Both ties will be contested on Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
Photo: ATP Tour
Majchrzak dominated to win eight of the first nine games, before Pervolarakis started to reap dividends by changing his court position to attack the short ball. The 25-year-old won three straight games for a 3-2 lead in the second set, but regularly found himself under pressure on deep groundstrokes out wide. Majchrzak held his nerve to make a crucial breakthrough with a forehand pass at 3-3 and didn’t look back.
“It’s my first match of the year in these great conditions and it’s an honour to represent my country,” said Majchrzak. “When I can fight for my country, it gives me different emotions and feelings. It’s great to deliver this first point for Poland today. I found my rhythm from the beginning of the match. I was very consistent and I am very happy with my performance. Even the gap at the beginning of the second set, where I led 2-0 and let him back in. That was a danger moment.”
World No. 4 Tsitsipas admitted in early November, during the Rolex Paris Masters, that he had been experiencing pain for some time. He played one match at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, before withdrawing due to the same injury.
The ATP Cup format sees the No. 2 singles played first, followed by the No. 1 singles and doubles.
Pablo Carreno Busta rallied from sluggish starts in both sets against Alejandro Tabilo to give Spain an early 1-0 lead over Chile on Day 1 of the ATP Cup in Sydney Saturday.
The former Top 10 Spaniard used his experience to rally from 0-3 in both sets to claim a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over the left-handed World No. 139 Tabilo, who last year played just six tour-level matches (2-4 record).
“It was very difficult at the beginning of the match because he was playing unbelievable,” Carreno Busta said. “I was fighting all the time… and I ended up playing much better than I started.”
Carreno Busta, 30, who defeated Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev en route to the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal last year, claimed his 231st career win today. That stands in stark contrast to 24-year-old Tabilo’s five tour-level wins.
The victory leaves Roberto Bautista Agut with the opportunity to clinch the Tie for 2020 finalist Spain when he plays Cristian Garin in the No. 1 singles.
The ATP Cup format sees the No. 2 singles played first, followed by the No. 1 singles and doubles.
It did not take long for Argentina to fire out of the gates at the ATP Cup. After a comprehensive victory by Federico Delbonis in the No. 2 singles match, Diego Schwartzman clinched the tie for his country against Georgia on Saturday with a 6-1, 6-2 win against Nikoloz Basilashvili.
“I want to say Happy New Year for everyone who came and is watching,” Schwartzman said in his on-court interview. “It was a good start for me. I know him because we are the same age, but we didn’t play [before]. It’s the first time, so I’m happy to beat him in this way. Obviously I’m thinking about myself and I think my start and Federico’s start for our team, it was perfect.”
Basilashvili has proven he can compete with the best in the world, having reached an ATP Masters 1000 final at the BNP Paribas Open just three months ago. But he struggled to find his range from the baseline with his powerful groundstrokes and Schwartzman played consistently to triumph after 61 minutes.
“The good thing is I’m not hitting harder than my opponents regularly. That’s why I think I came to the court thinking just to have a good serve game,” Schwartzman said. “I think the return was working very good.”
It did not take Delbonis long to make an impact on his ATP Cup debut. In the No. 2 singles match, the Argentine lefty eased past Aleksandre Metreveli 6-1, 6-2 in 65 minutes on Saturday to give his country a 1-0 lead.
“I think it’s a really nice start of the year,” Delbonis said in his on-court interview. “I am very happy with the way that I played. I played from low to a bit higher in my level. I want to keeo improving and now it’s time to cheer Diego and the rest of the team.”
Photo Credit: Tennis Australia
Metreveli, who is No. 571 in the ATP Rankings, earned a victory against Uruguay at the ATP Cup two years ago (1-2). But the grandson of Alex Metreveli, who defeated Jimmy Connors en route to 1973 Wimbledon final, struggled to handle the consistency of his veteran opponent.
Delbonis used his heavy forehand to push the Georgian deep behind the baseline and force him into risky shots from tough positions on the court. The two-time ATP Tour titlist won 57 per cent of his return points and broke his opponent’s serve six times.
“Of course you have pressure because I didn’t know him. I didn’t know what I had to expect,” Delbonis said. “In the beginning I felt a bit nervous, the first match of the year and a bit tight after the preseason. But I think I can manage that pressure.”
After Metreveli missed a final forehand, Delbonis pumped his fist toward the Argentina Team Zone to celebrate.
In the final match of the tie, ATP Cup veterans Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni defeated Saba Purtseladze and Zura Tkemaladze 6-1, 6-2 to complete their country’s sweep. The doubles match finished just as the clock struck midnight in Argentina, marking the new year. The Argentines hoped they made their country proud.
“For us it’s very important. Obviously everyone wants to be [at] home these days with the family, friends,” Schwartzman said. “But every single player knows that the year starts very quickly, very early. [The] first day of the year we start playing, so it’s very important to start very well. It’s a team competition.”
Ugo Humbert says France is looking to make the most of its late entry into the 2022 ATP Cup in Sydney.
“It was unexpected,” said Humbert. “But I was very happy when I found out that we can play. I’m super happy to be with these guys. It’s nice to play a team competition just before the Australian Open.”
The French team, which entered with Austria’s withdrawal, kicks off its campaign on Sunday against defending champions Russia in Group B at Ken Rosewall Arena, before ties against an Italian team, which features Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner, and host country Australia. World No. 35 Humbert is looking forward to the challenge.
“I saw the past editions of the ATP Cup,” said Humbert. “I really like the atmosphere of the competition.”
It will be the 23-year-old’s ATP Cup debut. He is scheduled to face World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, Berrettini and Sydney local Alex de Minaur in the No. 1 singles slot.
Arthur Rinderknech, the No. 2 singles player for France, currently sits at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 58 and will also be hoping to perform well against scheduled opponents Roman Safiullin, Jannik Sinner and James Duckworth.
“I’m lucky… to play the ATP Cup with a bunch of great guys,” Rinderknech said. “It’s really cool, and I hope we’ll do great.”
The team has plenty of quality and experience in its doubles ranks, with Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Fabrice Martin, with career-high ATP Doubles Rankings of No. 6 and No. 22, respectively, representing their country.
Roger-Vasselin, who has won 22 tour-level doubles titles, will be making his third appearance in the ATP Cup. This is his first event since Wimbledon, as he underwent hip resurfacing in July.
“I’m ready to play,” said Roger-Vasselin. “I’m super excited to play here and to be with these guys on the court.”
Like Humbert, Martin is playing at the ATP Cup for the first time. “I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “From watching the past years, it looks like an amazing event.”
With the ATP Cup match schedule coming out in early December, Taylor Fritz has been doing his homework. The World No. 23 can’t wait to lead Team United States against Canada in Group C on Sunday.
“I’m really excited,” said Fritz. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to play in front of a big crowd again. We got a taste of it towards the end of last year, but it should be good energy.”
Fritz, the United States’ No. 1 singles player, opens against World No. 11 Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday, and will later challenge Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Cameron Norrie of Great Britain.
“The groups and everything came out in early December, so I’ve spent this whole off-season knowing my first three matches of the year, which is pretty cool,” said Fritz. “Obviously, they are three really tough matches, but I’ve been playing really well and I’m looking forward to it.”
John Isner, who sits one spot behind Fritz at No. 24 in the ATP Rankings, is also looking forward to the challenge of facing Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. “I’m going to play Shapovalov in a couple of days and he’s actually someone who I’ve never played before, which is kind of unusual, as I’ve been on the Tour with him for three or four years now,” said Isner.
Brandon Nakashima, who reached back-to-back ATP Tour finals in Los Cabos (l. to Norrie) and Atlanta (l. to Isner), and Rajeev Ram, currently No. 4 in the ATP Doubles Rankings, also feature for the United States in Sydney.
Isner believes the United States has several partnership options at its disposal for the doubles match. “I think any of us [with] Raj obviously the staple, can play doubles. Physically, I don’t think it’s an issue.”
Nakashima, who is making his ATP Cup debut, said, “I think it’s going to be a really good week. I feel very confident about our team here. I think it will be a great experience for me just to watch all these matches close up, being able to practise with all these guys.”
American Captain Michael Russell is Fritz’s full-time coach, and he is leading his country at the ATP Cup for the first time.
“We’re excited. We finished last year pretty strong, and we’re looking to come up against Canada Sunday and we feel good about our team,” said Russell. “Everybody’s fired up.”
Felix Auger-Aliassime says Team Canada is “pumped to start the year well” as they prepare for their opening ATP Cup tie with the United States on Sunday.
The 21-year-old is stepping up as captain for this ATP Cup campaign, but the World No. 11 says he doesn’t expect anything too different from this additional responsibility. “Not much is going to change,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I think it’s similar to team events we have had before.”
“I will be watching Denis’ [Shapovalov] matches, but when the time comes to prepare for mine, I will. That’s the best we can do, just focus on what individually we have to do and try to win every match we play. I love this event…I think it’s good for the sport and it’s good for us players to start the year this way.”
Auger-Aliassime will certainly have his hands full on the singles court in Sydney, where he is due to face World No. 23 Taylor Fritz, followed by No. 12-ranked Cameron Norrie of Great Britain and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who ended 2021 with the Nitto ATP Finals crown.
World No. 14 Denis Shapovalov made waves at the inaugural ATP Cup in 2020, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Zverev to ensure Canada made it through the group stage. He then pushed Novak Djokovic to a final-set tie-break in a thrilling quarter-final rubber.
Alongside his well-known singles prowess, Shapovalov plays doubles frequently on the ATP tour, something he believes can make a difference in close ties this year. “Doubles is pretty important in these events,” said Shapovalov. “Obviously, it’s the decider. So, it’s great to have three, four guys that can play doubles and play really well.
“Playing throughout the year helps a lot, but we’ve got great players, and everyone can play doubles. I think we’ve got a lot of variety on the team.”
Brayden Schnur and Steven Diez will also be looking to make an impact at the opening event of the year. World No. 238 Schnur is hoping to use his time in Sydney as a launchpad for his 2022 season.
“I just feel it could be great preparation for me heading into the year, and any opportunity I get to spend time with these guys and be around them,” said Schnur. “I mean, this is the next generation of top players, so I’m so grateful for the opportunity and just eager to just keep improving myself.”
Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt says that Team Australia are ready to embrace strong home support at the ATP Cup in its quest to beat Russia, Italy and France in Group B.
“To get out there, especially on Ken Rosewall Arena now with the roof, it’s going to be a great atmosphere for these boys”, said Hewitt, who is Australia’s captain for the third straight year. “I think it’s a great opportunity for these guys to represent and wear the green and gold proudly in their background.”
Australia face a tough task, with an opening tie on Sunday against Italy spearheaded by World No. 7 Matteo Berrettini and No. 10-ranked Jannik Sinner. The hosts bring no little firepower of their own, however, with Alex de Minaur as the No. 1 singles player, who has a high-level trio of opponents lined up in the shape of Berrettini, World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and the No. 35-ranked Frenchman Ugo Humbert. The World No. 34 sees it as an opportunity to start his season with a bang.
“I think this is the beauty of the ATP Cup at the start of the year,” said De Minaur. “I’ve experienced it before, and it’s a great way to kind of see where I’m at. These are the kind of matches I want to be playing. It’s a great challenge for me, which I’m looking forward to.”
Also hailing from Sydney, James Duckworth admitted he couldn’t have envisaged making the Australian roster a year ago. “I didn’t think I’d be here, but I had a pretty good year and I’ve been really happy with how I played,” said Duckworth, who broke into the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings in 2021. “I’m really looking forward to getting out and playing.”
John Peers, Max Purcell and Luke Saville are also vying for a doubles spot. World No. 13 Peers believes the ATP Cup format emphasised the importance of doubles, saying, “It’s always great. Any time you get to play a live match where it counts for the team is huge. We’re not just playing for ourselves now. We’re playing for the country.”
Regardless of what happens, Hewitt expects an entertaining spectacle for fans. “I was so impressed the first year with the crowds here in Australia, and it wasn’t just the Australian matches,” said Hewitt. “Every single country has one standout elite player, no matter the depth of their team. I think the Australian crowds really enjoy coming out and seeing that calibre of players on our shores.”
