Tennis News

ATP Announces Updated Start To 2021 Calendar

The ATP has today announced an update to the 2021 ATP Tour calendar, outlining a revised schedule for the first seven weeks of the season as tennis continues to navigate its return during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Confirmed details of weeks 8-13 will be announced separately, while all subsequent sections of the 2021 calendar, beginning with the Spring clay-court season from week 14, remain unchanged at this time, with all tournaments planned to take place as originally scheduled.

The opening week of the season will kick off with the ATP 250 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, alongside a new single-year ATP 250 license on hard court in Antalya, Turkey.

Australian Open men’s qualifying will take place from 10-13 January in Doha, and the allocated dates of 15-31 January will then allow for travel and a 14-day quarantine period for all players and support staff travelling to Melbourne, in accordance with requirements of Australian public health and immigration authorities. The controlled environment quarantine period will enable players to prepare ahead of a 12-team ATP Cup in Melbourne, played alongside the relocated Adelaide International, as well as an additional ATP 250 tournament, all held in Melbourne.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, will follow from 8-21 February.

ATP 250 events confirmed as not taking place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic include the ASB Classic (Auckland) and the New York Open, while the Tata Maharashtra Open (Pune) is unable to stage in its scheduled February week.

The Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event, will not take place as originally scheduled, and alternative dates in the calendar will be assessed for it to potentially take place later in the year.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “The reconfigured calendar for the start of the 2021 season represents a huge collaborative effort across tennis, under challenging circumstances. Together with the support of our tournament and player members, partners, and Tennis Australia, we have been able to adapt and create an exciting start to the season. Health and safety will continue to be paramount as we navigate the challenges ahead, and I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment to finding solutions to launch our 2021 season.”

The ATP will continue to assess opportunities for additional single-year licenses to be scheduled in the first quarter of 2021 and will communicate any additions once confirmed.

The ATP Challenger Tour season will begin the week of January 18, following the completion of Australian Open qualifying.

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Q&A With Coach Of The Year Nominees Cervara, Chela, Massu, Piatti & Vicente

The 2020 ATP Coach of the Year award goes to the coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance during the year. This year’s nominees are Gilles Cervara, Juan Ignacio Chela, Nicolas Massu, Riccardo Piatti and Fernando Vicente. The winner, as selected by fellow ATP coach members, will be announced later this month.

Learn more about all the nominated coaches and their seasons as they speak exclusively to ATPTour.com.

Gilles Cervara 

• Coaching Daniil Medvedev since 2017, named Coach of the Year in 2019
• 2020 Highlights: Nitto ATP Finals champion, Paris champion, US Open semi-final

Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Cervara: “This question is difficult, because there are so many points to explain why our partnership is a success. I would say the main point is the good connection we have together. This connection is a mix between many things: I think I understand Daniil, the way he thinks, the way he works. I think our connection is a good one to make him be at his optimal level all the time. To find the best way he can work, the best way he can play, and to put him in the best conditions to prove his quality – I think that’s a part of my coaching, to make him succeed. I think that’s the main point, the relationship and the work… giving him the space that he needs to work and to play at his best.”

Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Cervara: “I will say maybe to finish the year like this [winning the Nitto ATP Finals]. Because when you finish with victories like this, it gives you confidence to start the new season with a lot of hope and confidence. Also, it gives us confidence in the work that we did. Even if sometimes you don’t win for a few weeks, you still have to work and still believe in the work you do. So then when you win, you realize that the work you did, even in difficult moments, means that you were going in a good direction. That’s what makes me the most pleased this year.”

 

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Juan Ignacio Chela 

• Coaching Diego Schwartzman since 2017
• 2020 Highlights: Rome finalist, Roland Garros semi-final, Nitto ATP Finals debut, career-high No. 8 in FedEx ATP Rankings 

Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Chela: “Diego and I have a great relationship both on and off the tennis court. We are both professionals, and we know how to differentiate between the time to work and the time to relax. We both have similar personalities, and we like to decompress from the hard situations of the tour and the competition. When it comes to work, we like to have clear objectives and work hard to achieve them.”

Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Chela: “This year, despite all the difficulties, we are very happy because we have accomplished many goals and new achievements. The highlights and the ones we worked the hardest for were reaching the Top 10, reaching the first ATP Masters 1000 final [in Rome] and the semi-finals at Roland Garros.”

Nicolas Massu

• Coaching Dominic Thiem since 2019
• 2020 Highlights: US Open champion, Australian Open finalist, Nitto ATP Finals finalist, career-high No. 3 in FedEx ATP Rankings

Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Massu: “I think that we understand each other very well on both a personal and professional level. We have great communication, a lot of respect and a willingness to improve every day. I’m about to celebrate two years working with Dominic, and I think the results have been incredible. There is a lot of motivation from both parties. The way we work, we’re both trying to bring our 100% every day.

“We’re from different cultures; I’m South American, he’s European. But I think that strengthens us, because we have different personalities but share the same passion for being our best every day. We don’t have a big age difference either, and that helps us have a great energy on and off the tennis court.

“Also, I retired seven years ago from tennis, and that’s not too long ago. So I believe that a lot of the things I experienced as a tennis player, I can pass on to him. On a personal level I think we’re getting to know each other more and building up trust every day.”

Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Massu: Despite the few tournaments that could be played this year, there are two very important things for me about him in 2020. One: in the few tournaments that he played, he was very consistent and played with a high level of tennis. That’s a big step for a tennis player, to be consistent tournament after tournament. 

And obviously, the three most important tournaments were the final of the Australian Open, winning the US Open, and the final of ATP Finals. But of course, winning the US Open, winning his first Grand Slam, and the way that he did it – I think that’s the biggest achievement of 2020. And after that, the two big finals.

 

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Riccardo Piatti

• Coaching Jannik Sinner since 2014
• 2020 Highlights: Sofia champion, Roland Garros quarter-final, career-high No. 37 on FedEx ATP Rankings

Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Piatti: “For me, it’s really important to educate the player more than coaching him. With all my players I’ve always tried to deal with their existing talent. These players are all very good, what we need to do, or at least what I like to do, is to give them order, to bring out what is already in them.

“Jannik was very young when he came to me and he still had to learn a lot from every point of view. But the more they improve the more they need someone who’s there to educate them to this game, and I think this is what I’m doing with him.”

Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Piatti: “Well, 2020 has been a very difficult year for everyone, but I would say Paris. Roland Garros was very good despite the temperature, and of course when he won Sofia – although for me the important moments are the ones when there is a difficulty to overcome. In New York, he started cramping against [Karen] Khachanov but managed to finish the match even if he lost it. In Rome, he played two very important matches against [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and [Grigor] Dimitrov. Normally the matches he loses are the ones he learns the most from.”

 

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Fernando Vicente 

• Coaching Andrey Rublev since 2018
• 2020 Highlights: Hamburg champion, St. Petersburg champion, Vienna champion, Nitto ATP Finals debut, career-high No. 8 in FedEx ATP Rankings

Q: What makes your partnership with your player a success, both on a personal and professional level?
Vicente: “Honestly, we’ve been working together for four years now and both the way we work together and the way we coexist is really great. We know how to respect each other’s spaces off the court. And in addition to that, I think that we’re both very passionate about tennis, so we can spend lots of hours on the court working to improve many aspects of his game.

“I would say Andrey has made me a better coach. I’ve learned and continue to learn a lot with him. I think that on my end, he understands what I’m trying to impart on him and there’s a very good personal connection, too. If not, it would be impossible to stay together so long.

“We’ve been through very tough moments and now we’ve had a great year. The key is to keep working with passion and the work will bear fruit. So we have to keep going and not be satisfied, there is a lot to improve if we want to stay at this level!”

Q: What were you most pleased to achieve in 2020?
Vicente: “What I’ve been most pleased to see was Andrey’s steady mentality during the weeks where our objective was to reach the Nitto ATP Finals. Those were weeks with so much tension, and he managed to compete at a very high level. Of course, I’m pleased with almost everything. It was his best year in terms of ranking, he won the five finals he played and in general his entire game improved a lot. I would give him an ‘outstanding’ on the season.

“During the time that we couldn’t compete, Andrey worked like an animal and I was really pleased about that. I liked to see that look in his eye during his practices, and see that he wanted to become a better player in the future. That motivates me a lot!”

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Battle of the Brits: Andy Murray and Heather Watson in event line-up

Andy Murray and Heather Watson are among the players who will compete in the Battle of the Brits event at Roehampton from 20-23 December.

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Soaring Sinner Highlights Stats Of 2020

Yesterday we began a two-part story on the best stats of 2020, looking at which players excelled this year by surface, against certain opponents and in pressure situations.

Now we’ll look at more interesting stats from the season, including Jannik Sinner’s sophomore leap, the season’s longest match and more.

Top Movers For Year-End Top 50 Finishers

^*Career-High
Sinner stepped into the spotlight in 2019 with a series of impressive wins throughout the year, but he made his biggest splash at the Next Gen ATP Finals, where he triumphed as a wild card.

This year, the Italian showed no interest in a “sophomore slump”. Sinner consistently continued his ascent, reaching a career-high No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, where he finished the year. He lifted his first ATP Tour trophy in Sofia.

Top Movers For Year-End Top 100 Finishers

Vasek Pospisil, whose career-high FedEx ATP Ranking is No. 25, underwent back surgery in January 2019. The Canadian came back in a big way this year, climbing 89 spots to reach a year-end No. 61.

2020 Fast Facts
– The longest ATP Tour match of the season was Thiago Seyboth Wild’s 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 triumph against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Rio de Janeiro, which lasted three hours and 50 minutes. There were 19 ATP Tour matches that lasted more than three hours this year.

– There were four all tie-break matches in 2020. In one of those matches, Nick Kyrgios’ 7-6(7), 6-7(3), 7-6(5) victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP Cup, there were no service breaks. 

– Four qualifiers made an ATP Tour final in 2020, but none of them lifted the trophy. Those players were Corentin Moutet (Doha, l. to Rublev), Lloyd Harris (Adelaide, l. to Rublev), Gianluca Mager (Rio de Janeiro, l. to Garin) and Yannick Hanfmann (Kitzbuhel, l. to Kecmanovic).

– There were two lucky loser finalists this year: Pedro Sousa at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires (l. to Ruud) and Lorenzo Sonego at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna (l. to Rublev). 

– Two of 19 tour-level champions came from outside the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings this year: World No. 182 Seyboth Wild in Santiago and World No. 107 Jiri Vesely in Pune. 

2020 First-Time Winners

There were only six first-time winners in this year’s shortened season, as play was suspended for more than five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five of the six first-time champions were 21-and-under. John Millman, a 31-year-old Aussie, earned ATP Tour glory at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Titles Won Without Losing A Set

Six of this year’s champions triumphed without losing a set, and all of them were Top 10 players at the time. Nadal (Acapulco, Roland Garros) and Rublev (Doha, Vienna) both accomplished the feat twice.

Infosys ATP Stats – 2020 Leaders (at least 10 matches)

Although the 2020 season was shortened due to COVID-19, there were no surprises in the season’s statistical leaders. Diego Schwartzman, who cracked the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time this year, led the ATP Tour in return games won at 34.9 per cent. 

The Argentine has long tussled with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in this category — they are also the top three players in career return games won. But Schwartzman had the best returning season of his career, even topping his 2017 performance. That year he topped the Tour by winning 34.8 per cent of his return games.

Rapid Fire
Most Aces in Best-of-3 Match: 36, Reilly Opelka (l. to Cuevas, Adelaide R1)

Most Aces in Best-of-5 Match: 52, John Isner (l. to Johnson, US Open R1)

Longest Winning Streak: 26, Novak Djokovic

Youngest Final: Stefanos Tsitsipas (21) def. Felix Auger-Aliassime (19) in Marseille

Oldest Final: Rafael Nadal (34) def. Novak Djokovic (33) at Roland Garros 

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– Research contributed by Greg Sharko

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Djokovic's Dominance & Rublev's Ascent: Stats Of 2020

The ATP Tour season had plenty of thrilling storylines, from Novak Djokovic earning a record-tying sixth year-end No. 1 finish in the FedEx ATP Rankings to Andrey Rublev stepping into the spotlight.

In the first of a two-part story, ATPTour.com looks at the stats to remember from 2020.

ATP Tour Match Wins Leaders

It is no shock to see Djokovic atop the 2020 match wins leaderboard (41-5), but perhaps it is surprising to see Rublev right alongside him. The Russian had the best season of his career, tying Djokovic with 41 tour-level victories. The year-end World No. 8 went 19-2 at ATP 500s this year, claiming three of his ATP Tour-leading five titles at that level. Rublev began the season with two crowns at tour-level.

2020 Hard Court Leaders

Rublev won as many hard-court titles (4) as Djokovic claimed on all surfaces this year (4). The Russian earned a Tour-leading 31 hard-court victories. Even so, Djokovic was once again ruthless on hard courts in 2020, winning three of his four titles on the surface. Three of the Serbian’s hard-court losses came in his final two tournaments of the season (Vienna, London). The World No. 1’s winning percentage on hard (88.2%) was more than eight points better than the next player on the list, Gael Monfils (16-4, 80%).

2020 Clay Court Leaders

Casper Ruud topped the clay match wins leaderboard, claiming his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While Rafael Nadal didn’t make the list, he lifted his 13th Coupe des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros, and improved his career record on the surface to 445-40. The active player with the second-most tour-level victories on clay is Fernando Verdasco with 230.

2020 Indoors Leaders

Felix Auger-Aliassime was unable to claim his first tour-level trophy in 2020, but he excelled indoors, where he made all three of his finals this year (Rotterdam, Marseille, Cologne-1). The Canadian #NextGenATP star was tied for the ATP Tour-lead with 14 indoor victories this year (14-8), matching Top 10 stalwarts Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, both of whom were 14-4.

Tie-Break Wins

Dominic Thiem played 28 tie-breaks this year in 34 tour-level matches. Four of his tie-break victories (17-11 overall) came at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he reached the championship match for the second consecutive year. One of those tie-breaks came in the final set of his London semi-final against Djokovic, who entered the decider with an impressive 15-1 record in tie-breaks this season.

Top 10 Wins

Throughout the year, Thiem excelled against the best players in the world, earning an 8-4 record against the Top 10. This continues a trend for Thiem, who has played superbly against the world’s best in recent years. In 2019 and 2020, he went a combined 9-3 against the Big Three (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal). This year, he went 1-1 against Djokovic and 2-0 against Nadal.

ATP Masters 1000 Wins

Djokovic began 2020 with 34 ATP Masters 1000 titles, one off Nadal’s record 35. But the Serbian tied the Spaniard at the  before taking the lead with a victory at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. He went undefeated in the two Masters 1000 events he played this year (10-0).

Decisive Set Wins

Medvedev won his last five deciding sets of the year, including two en route to the Rolex Paris Masters title and two at the Nitto ATP Finals, in the semi-finals and championship match, respectively. The Russian also tied for the ATP Tour-lead with eight victories in 2020 after losing the first set (8-8). Garin also had eight, but lost more matches (8-12).

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– Research contributed by Greg Sharko

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Sinner Leads 2020 First-Time Winners

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPTour.com pays tribute to the first-time winners of the 2020 season. Take a look at the six players who lifted their first tour-level trophy in 2020.

Ugo Humbert – Auckland [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
After closing his 2019 ATP Tour season with his debut appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals, Ugo Humbert wasted no time in making his mark on the ATP Tour in 2020. At the ASB Classic in Auckland, Humbert made history as the first French player to lift the ATP 250 trophy.

The Metz-born star battled past fellow 2019 Milan competitor Casper Ruud in three sets to reach the second round, before earning straight-sets wins against Marco Cecchinato, second seed Denis Shapovalov and fourth seed John Isner to reach the championship match.

In a thrilling final, Humbert held his nerve in a dramatic final set to overcome countryman Benoit Paire 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(5). The Frenchman jumped from No. 57 to a career-high No. 43 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

“It’s a tournament of revenge because I’ve lost to four of the five players I played this week,” Humbert joked in Auckland. “It’s a great improvement for me and I couldn’t dream of a better beginning for the season.”

Humbert has since collected his second ATP Tour trophy in Antwerp and cracked the Top 30. 

Casper Ruud – Buenos Aires [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Casper Ruud made Norwegian history at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. The Oslo-native became the first player from his nation to lift an ATP Tour trophy with an impressive run. Ruud charged past Pablo Andujar, Roberto Carballes Baena and Dusan Lajovic to reach the semi-finals, in which he rallied from a set down to eliminate Juan Ignacio Londero and reach his second tour-level final.

In the championship match, Ruud ended the run of lucky loser Pedro Sousa in straight sets to lift the title and earn family bragging rights. Casper not only become the first Norwegian ATP Tour champion, he also became the highest-ranked Norwegian in FedEx ATP Rankings history. He beat the previous-best mark held by his father and coach, Christian Ruud (World No. 39).

“I feel a great sensation now. It is what all players look for and dream [of]. I am very happy with my career, although I know that I am still young,” Ruud said. “Buenos Aires will always be a special place for me, this is [where I won] my first title.”

Ruud’s success in Buenos Aires provided the springboard to a breakthrough 2020 campaign. The 21-year-old, who reached a career-high No. 25 on 28 September, finished as a runner-up in Santiago and reached back-to-back semi-finals in Rome and Hamburg to finish the year with a Tour-leading 17 clay wins. 

Thiago Seyboth Wild – Santiago [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Thiago Seyboth Wild entered the inaugural Chile Dove Men+Care Open with just three tour-level victories to his name. The #NextGenATP Brazilian left with the trophy.

Seyboth Wild beat three Argentine players en route to his maiden championship match, in which he faced Buenos Aires champion Ruud for the trophy. The 19-year-old earned a crucial early break in the final set and maintained his advantage to become the youngest Brazilian titlist in ATP Tour history and the youngest champion during the Golden Swing since an 18-year-old Rafael Nadal prevailed in 2005 Acapulco.

“It’s an incredible achievement,” Seyboth Wild said. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed about… As the matches went by and I was feeling myself on court, I felt like I could go step-by-step. When I got to the final, I needed to play it just like another match, like I had been playing the whole week and take my chances.”

Miomir Kecmanovic – Kitzbühel [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
Following in the footsteps of 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals competitors Humbert and Ruud, Miomir Kecmanovic added his name to the 2020 first-time winners list with his title run at the Generali Open.

Fourteen months after failing to convert championship point in his first ATP Tour final in Antalya, the Serbian earned three-set wins against Kei Nishikori, Federico Delbonis and Marc-Andrea Huesler to earn his second title opportunity. In the final, Kecmanovic ended the run of qualifier Yannick Hanfmann to collect his maiden ATP Tour crown.

“It means a lot [to win my first ATP Tour title]. I worked so hard for this,” said Kecmanovic. “I am definitely happy that I was able to achieve it so quickly.”

John Millman – Nur-Sultan [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
At the inaugural Astana Open, John Millman became the fifth first-time ATP Tour champion of the year and the fifth player in 2020 to win a tour-level trophy after saving match point.

In the quarter-finals, Millman saved two match points at 3-5 down in the decider and recovered from 0/5 in a final-set tie-break to outlast Tommy Paul. Millman also needed to recover from a set down against Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals to reach his third ATP Tour final. The 31-year-old Australian handled the pressure of playing a championship match well in Nur-Sultan. He saved all six break points he faced against Adrian Mannarino to become the oldest first-time ATP Tour champion of the season.

“It is incredible. I am so happy and relieved,” Millman said. “I just feel very satisfied. It is just a pure moment of satisfaction… That was my third final, third time lucky, I guess. These things aren’t easy to win and to do so at a place where I felt so comfortable all week, in terms of the hospitality, makes it really special. To win the inaugural Astana Open is special. I am so happy. It has been a big team effort and I am pumped.”

Jannik Sinner – Sofia [First-Time Winner Spotlight]
One year after his breakthrough success at the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Jannik Sinner ended an impressive 2020 season with his first ATP Tour title at the Sofia Open. The #NextGenATP Italian dropped just one set en route to the final. In the quarter-finals, he recovered from a set down to overcome Alex de Minaur in a repeat of the 2019 Milan championship match.

In the final, Sinner was pushed all the way to a final-set tie-break by Vasek Pospisil. The 19-year-old played with aggression in crucial moments to clinch his victory and earn his place in the history books. Sinner became the youngest ATP Tour titlist since an 18-year-old Kei Nishikori won the 2008 Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

“It is always special when you win tournaments,” Sinner said. “I felt well this week. It is special. Playing finals like this, 7-6 in the third… is always tough. But when you win, it is an even better win than winning 6-1 6-1.

“I am happy about the match, how I tried to stay there every point and I think it is a very special week for me.”

Sinner’s title run capped a memorable 2020 season for the San Candido-born star. The 6’2” right-hander earned three Top 10 wins in 2020 and finished the year with a 19-11 record. Following his success in Sofia, Sinner jumped to a career-high No. 37 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. 

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Roger Federer in 'tight' race for 2021 Australian Open

Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer says he faces a “tight” race to be fit to play at the Australian Open.

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Best of 2020: Player Retirements

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPTour.com looks at the players who retired in 2020.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (Retired: 26 August), Career-High No. 1
From their first professional tournament at the 1995 US Open, when, as 17-year-olds, they were mistaken by opponents for ball kids and not initially given accreditation badges, to winning 1,108 tour-level matches together, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan made their mark. The twins promoted doubles as a fun, social pursuit that taught key life skills, while demonstrating incredible skill.

The American brothers were the perfect ambassadors for doubles on and off the court and they increased the popularity of the discipline through their remarkable success. The Bryan Brothers captured an Open Era record 119 trophies as a team, including all four Grand Slams, all nine ATP Masters 1000s, the Nitto ATP Finals and the Olympic men’s doubles gold medal. The 10-time year-end No. 1s, known for their signature chest bump celebration, also finished their careers with the all-time team records for Grand Slam titles (16 from 30 finals) and ATP Masters 1000 crowns (39 from 59 finals).

The 14-time ATP Tour Fans’ Favourite Team award winners made their final ATP Tour appearance at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com in February. Rather fittingly, the Bryans ended the event with a tournament record sixth doubles crown. The American twins finished their careers with a 1,108-359 team record.

“We’re most proud of the way we devoted ourselves completely to the game and gave our full effort every day,” said Bob Bryan. “Our loyalty toward each other never wavered and we are leaving professional tennis with zero regrets. We’ll miss the competition and camaraderie amongst the players. We’ll also miss the excitement of gearing up for a big match and playing for the roar of the fans.”

“We feel it’s the right time to walk away,” said Mike Bryan. “We’ve given over 20 years to the tour, and we are now looking forward to the next chapter of our lives. With that said, we feel very blessed to have been able to play the game of doubles for so long. We are grateful to have had the opportunities in the beginning of the year to play and say our goodbyes to the fans. Winning our final event in Delray Beach and clinching the Davis Cup tie in Honolulu are moments we’ll forever remember and cherish.”

Santiago Giraldo (Retired: 6 October), Career-High No. 28
Across his 16-year professional career, Santiago Giraldo claimed 168 tour-level wins and reached ATP Tour finals at 2011 Vina del Mar (l. to Robredo) and 2014 Barcelona (l. to Nishikori). The Colombian, who rose to a career-high No. 28 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 29 September 2014, also captured 10 ATP Challenger Tour trophies.

Giraldo finished seven consecutive seasons inside the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings (2010-16) and reached the third round at a Grand Slam on three occasions. The Pereira native met Andy Murray in the third round at Roland Garros in 2012 and made back-to-back third-round appearances at Wimbledon in 2014 (l. to Federer) and 2015 (l. to Kudla).

Giraldo earned two Top 10 victories during his career. In his most memorable ATP Masters 1000 run, the Colombian beat former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and then-No. 8 Murray in consecutive matches to reach the quarter-finals at the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open. Giraldo also defeated 2014 US Open champion and then-No. 10 Marin Cilic en route to the 2015 Geneva Open semi-finals.

“I started at 15 and now, at almost 33, I’ve decided to say thank you and put a full stop at the end of this journey,” said Giraldo. “I did the best I could, and I gave everything I had. I remember that curious, unique, explorative and rebellious boy who left his home at just 12 years of age, carrying only his racquets and his dreams, until he arrived here today. I don’t regret anything I did.”

Steve Darcis (Retired: 15 January), Career-High No. 38
The 5’9” Belgian captured two ATP Tour crowns during his 17-year professional career. Darcis entered 2007 Amersfoort seeking his first tour-level victory, and he dropped just one set from qualifying to earn eight consecutive wins and his first ATP Tour title.

Darcis doubled his trophy count with a title run at 2008 Memphis and finished as runner-up in his second straight Amersfoort final appearance later in the year. The two-time ATP Tour titlist reached the third round at two Grand Slams — 2011 Roland Garros and 2017 Australian Open —but he will be remembered best for his first-round performance at Wimbledon in 2013.

Darcis earned the biggest win of his career on Centre Court at SW19, where he stunned two-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets. At No. 135 in the ATP Rankings, Darcis was the lowest-ranked player at the time to defeat Nadal at a Grand Slam event. The Belgian was known for his creative game. He used his one-handed backhand to great effect, especially his slice.

“I made a successful comeback in 2019, but after Wimbledon, I got problems again with my shoulder. Mentally and physically, I’m no longer at my best,” said Darcis in October 2019. “Plenty of strong career moments will stay with me forever.”

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#NextGenATP Stars Musetti & Alcaraz Top ATP Upsets Of 2020

Yesterday we looked at three of the top five upsets at ATP Tour events this season, with Diego Schwartzman’s impressive victory against Rafael Nadal in Rome ranking third.

Today, we complete the list with stunning upsets pulled off by two promising #NextGenATP talents. ATPTour.com looks at how Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti made their biggest splash on the ATP Tour this year.

2) Carlos Alcaraz def. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Rio Open presented by Claro, Rio de Janeiro, R1, 17 February 2020 (Match Stats)
When Albert Ramos-Vinolas earned his first FedEx ATP Ranking point, Carlos Alcaraz was barely a year old. But in the first round of this year’s Rio Open presented by Claro, it was the latter who sprung one of the biggest upsets of 2020.

Alcaraz, who was 16, walked onto the court late that evening at an hour one could argue was past his bedtime. But the teenager showed why he is one of the world’s most promising #NextGenATP talents against a tough opponent.

In 2017, Ramos-Vinolas reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. His heavy-topspin baseline game makes for a physical match against any opponent, especially on clay. It had to have been a massive ask for a 16-year-old, right?

World No. 406 Alcaraz, making his ATP Tour debut, looked plenty comfortable grinding through tough rallies against the veteran. The #NextGenATP player hit heavy backhands to set up his forehand, tactically manoeuvring his way through points without giving second thought to the physicality of the challenge early on.

Alcaraz took the opener, but it appeared Ramos-Vinolas’ experience and physicality — especially with his lefty forehand — began to wear on his countryman as he forced a decider, in which he took a 3-0 lead and held three break points to make it 4-0. But the teen remained calm and summoned the tennis that helped him take the lead in the first place, playing aggressively to win five straight games.

Despite letting slip two match points at 5-3 on Ramos-Vinolas’ serve as his nerves showed in poor movement, Alcaraz played courageously in the tie-break to triumph 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(2) at 3:00am after three hours and 37 minutes.

“I will remember Rio forever,” Alcaraz said. “I am very happy to win my first ATP Tour match. This has been the longest and most intense match I’ve played so far. There were quite difficult conditions, but if you have the right attitude, the conditions don’t matter. You can achieve anything.”

Alcaraz went on to win three ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2020, climbing into the Top 150 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

1) Lorenzo Musetti def. Stan Wawrinka, Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, R1, 15 September 2020 (Match Stats)
One first-round clash at this year’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia produced the birth of a #NextGenATP star.

World No. 249 Lorenzo Musetti, who went through qualifying, had only previously played one tour-level match ahead of his battle against former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss had already earned 523 tour-level victories in his illustrious career. When Musetti was born, Wawrinka had already earned FedEx ATP Ranking points.

But fans watching from around the world got a glimpse of the future. Musetti played confident, aggressive tennis, using a big forehand and a picturesque one-handed backhand — which former World No. 1 Jim Courier called “incredible” on Tennis Channel’s broadcast — to not just hang in with the three-time Grand Slam champion, but control play.

You’d understand if Musetti was flustered by the occasion, competing at his home ATP Masters 1000 event. But it was Wawrinka who struggled to find the court in the first set-and-a-half, losing the first eight games as he battled to find his rhythm.

As Wawrinka began firing in the second set, significantly cutting his unforced errors, Musetti kept up his level. The teen showed no fear of the 16-time tour-level titlist, instead choosing to hold his ground on the baseline. Musetti refused to relinquish control of points on the Roman clay, and he even showed his feel on occasion by throwing in drop shots in key moments to wrong-foot the Swiss.

The home favourite was simply too good on the evening, becoming the first player born in 2002 to win an ATP Tour match with a 6-0, 7-6(2) triumph against Wawrinka.

“I think it’s a dream that came true,” Musetti said. “I’m still not believing what I did tonight, so I just accept that.”

Musetti, who broke Wawrinka’s serve four times, was cool as a cucumber when speaking to the media after his breakthrough moment. He wasn’t overcome by the occasion.

“I just enjoyed the match,” Musetti, who’d also upset former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori in the next round, said. “I had a lot of fun tonight and hope to keep the process and trust the process of my career and try to play better every point, every day.”

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Masterclass: Shapovalov's Leaping Backhand

Different players are known for different shots. Rafael Nadal is known for his ferocious forehand and Novak Djokovic his bullet-proof two-handed backhand. Denis Shapovalov, who was an alternate at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, is known for his leaping one-handed backhand.

“I was hitting it as a junior a lot, so it really came naturally to me,” Shapovalov said.

The Canadian took the time to provide tips to ATPTour.com fans on how to hit the entertaining-but-difficult shot, focussing on five important steps. One of those steps is recognition, about which the lefty said: “Normally I’m looking for a slower, high ball. It might be a shank off an opponent’s racquet or just [a ball that is] slower, inside the court, so I can step in while I’m hitting the shot.”

Shapovalov believes his leaping one-hander is an important part of his repertoire.

“If I have the opportunity to go for that shot, I’m going to go for it. First of all, the crowd’s going to go wild. It’s a big momentum changer as well. If you hit that shot in an important point, you kind of put pressure on your opponent,” Shapovalov said. “We’re professional tennis players and also showmen. So for me, personally, if I have the opportunity to go for that shot, I go for it.”

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