After a breakout season in which they won the Australian Open doubles title and debuted at the Nitto ATP Finals, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios have yet another reason to smile at the close of the year. The Australians have been voted as the Fans’ Favourite doubles team in the 2022 ATP Awards.

The popular pairing and longtime friends started the season with a bang on home soil, winning a first team title at the year’s first Grand Slam. Each of their matches in Melbourne was played in a party atmosphere, and that theme continued as they enjoyed sustained success around the world.

“Just wanted to say a massive thank you for voting us, me and Nick, as your fans’ favorite ATP Doubles Team of the Year,” said Kokkinakis. “It’s been a hell of a year, winning our first Grand Slam on home soil in Australia. Crazy atmosphere down there, the support we’ve gotten all year has been amazing. Thanks again and hopefully we can keep it rolling. We’ll see you all in January. Thank you!”

 

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In addition to their Australian Open title, other standout results included a run to the Miami semis and a title triumph in Atlanta. Their results earned them a place in Turin for the Nitto ATP Finals, where they marked their first appearance with a round-robin win.

“Me and Thanasi never thought we were going to be here at the [Nitto ATP Finals],” Kygrios said. “We always thought we could do some good things together, but to put a year [together] consistently like this — and we didn’t even play, we played maybe six or seven events or something — the experience has been cool.”

The singles stars have shown they belong with the game’s best on the doubles court, and fans will be hoping they continue to light up the ATP Tour together in 2023.

The inaugural edition of the United Cup promises plenty, given the exciting team line-ups that have been announced.

Several countries boast leading male and female players with a long history of shared success, and in many instances, they enjoy long associations and great relationships on and off the court.

We revisit moments when soon-to-be United Cup teammates have shone in tandem, and how this bodes well for their teams ahead of the 2023 event. 

A Decade On, Hewitt & Stosur Re-unite

Ten years ago, Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur represented Australia in mixed doubles at the London 2012 Olympics.

Now, they will join forces once again – this time to co-captain Team Australia at the United Cup.

Hewitt and Stosur’s London 2012 partnership was made possible with the return of mixed doubles to the Olympic Tennis programme for the first time in almost 100 years. Both Grand Slam singles champions, the Aussies had also flourished in their respective doubles careers, and it showed when they began playing together.

They dominated Polish fourth seeds Agnieszka Radwanska and Marcin Matkowski 6-3 6-3, then came within a few points of the medal rounds before falling to Brits Andy Murray and Laura Robson in a Wimbledon Centre Court thriller.

“That was a huge experience, playing with someone like Lleyton in the Olympic Games,” Stosur reflected. “I didn’t love warming up with him, because his ball just skidded through the grass too much for me, so that wasn’t great to be on the other end of it (smiling). But playing with him was obviously a lot better.”

Stosur, who at age 38 now only competes in doubles, said she was looking forward to learning the ways of team captaincy from Hewitt, who is also Australia’s Davis Cup team captain.

“He’s obviously got heaps of experience captaining Davis Cup and being on the bench… whereas I’m kind of the newbie, I’ll be trying to find my feet. So I think it’s going to be a great opportunity to kind of learn from him and see how it goes,” she said.

“To actually be privy now to the actual (strategic and coaching selection) information I think is going to be pretty awesome.”

Team Poland Keeps It Among Friends

Represented by the talented duo of Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, Team Poland is one of the few United Cup nations boasting two Top 10 players.

It also helps that these two leading players get along extremely well.

Welcome to the BNP Paribas Poland Open!

Supported by champions Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, the new WTA tournament held in Gdynia hosts some of the best Top 50 and Top 100 players starting this weekend pic.twitter.com/VDxdmkzAcb

— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) July 17, 2021

The duo came together to play a “mixed singles” exhibition match ahead of the WTA Poland Open in Gdynia in 2021, thrilling home fans who packed into the stands. 

Their ascents have coincided; Swiatek broke through with her triumph at Roland Garros in 2020, while Hurkacz won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami in 2021 before reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals that same year.

Swiatek attained a new level in 2022, wresting control of the women’s tour to become a dominant World No.1, adding two more majors to her collection.

Hurkacz also continued to enjoy success, ending a season inside the Top 10 for the second consecutive year in 2022.

The two Polish stars have been supportive of each other along their respective journeys, frequently congratulating each other on social media for their achievements.

pic.twitter.com/Zs2d5VGH4M

— Hubert Hurkacz (@HubertHurkacz) September 11, 2022

The Kindest

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) August 28, 2022

Team Poland captain Agnieszka Radwanska said that in team competitions, it was important that the atmosphere within the squad made players feel comfortable and supported.

“They have a lot of stress and a lot of adrenaline everywhere. So this kind of event… Of course, you go on court and you want to win, but also on the other hand, you want to have a little bit of fun and you want to really enjoy the tennis,” the former WTA World No.2 said. “So I think having friends in a team is the best that we can have.”

Greek Pride For Tsitsipas & Sakkari

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari have long shared an association as the standard bearers of Greek tennis. They have known each other since they were children; their mothers were both also professional players. 

As their journeys have unfolded, they have frequently overlapped; there is a wonderful story that Sakkari, upon receiving funding from the Greek Olympic Federation to prepare for her Tokyo 2020 campaign, gave a chunk of it to Tsitsipas.

They are now the two highest-ranked Greek players in history, both having recently held career-high positions of World No.3, and they have come together on several occasions to represent their country proudly – first at the Hopman Cup in 2019, then in mixed doubles at the Tokyo 2020 games.

Most recently, they teamed up in an exhibition mixed doubles match at the 2022 US Open to raise funds for war-torn Ukraine.

“It’s wonderful to see (Maria’s rise). I’m extremely proud and happy that she was able to equal me and get to No. 3. I think she can do better than that,” Tsitsipas said. “I was watching her progress, I was watching most of her matches. She deserves to be there more than anyone.”

Added Sakkari: “For Greek people I think it’s very nice to have a female and a male player competing in that level, and especially giving them a lot of joy. I think they are proud of us. Stefanos inspires me a lot. It’s very, very good and very important for me to be kind of like by his side in that journey.”

Support Strong In Norwegian squad

One of the warmest moments at Roland Garros in 2022 came when Casper Ruud was interviewed on court following his quarter-final victory. The rising star had just broken through for his first Grand Slam semifinal, improving upon his record as the best-performed Norwegian man at a major tournament.

But instead, he used his moment to highlight somebody else’s achievement.

“A big day for Norwegian tennis” @CasperRuud98 @ueikeri #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/f4hz3g1N4e

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2022

“A big day for Norwegian tennis, because we have also a female player, Ulrikke Eikeri, who made the final of mixed doubles today. She is even one step further than me,” he said.

“She will play for probably her biggest title of her life tomorrow so I wish her luck.”

Ruud then attended the mixed final at Court Philippe Chatrier the following day to support his countrywoman.

Eikeri told rolandgarros.com she drew inspiration from Ruud, who enjoyed a banner 2022 season highlighted by two Grand Slam finals and a rise to World No.2.

“I’m so happy for Casper and it’s huge for Norwegian tennis… For sure he’s inspiring all of Norway, all the new tennis players coming up and it makes everyone believe it’s possible,” she said.

Ruud and Eikeri will come together to represent Norway at the United Cup, where they will feature in Group E alongside Brazil and Italy and play their matches in Brisbane.

Tennis and mathematics may have a few things in common, but for Frenchman Luca Van Assche, they intertwine daily as he makes a rapid rise on the ATP Challenger Tour.

While travelling weekly to tournaments, the 18-year-old remains in school at Paris Dauphine University, where he is a sophomore. The teen is studying math and handles school while away from home.

“I have a lot of homework when I’m on the road, but of course I manage it,” Van Assche told ATPTour.com. “Sometimes it’s difficult to do both. For the moment I’m enjoying doing both so I will continue like this.

“I cannot do online tests, I have to be in Paris. There are like two weeks of exams this year, one week in June and one in January. I study when I’m at home and on Tour, and for the exams I just need to be in Paris.”

The Belgian-born star, who moved to France at age three, enjoyed a late-season surge on the Challenger Tour. In October at the Brest Challenger, Van Assche downed Portuguese Nuno Borges for his first Top-100 victory. It was an emotional, dramatic three-set match that concluded around 1:30 a.m. Van Assche advanced to the final in France, where he fell short to countryman Gregoire Barrere.

After finishing runner-up at the Lisbon, Brest, and Valencia Challengers, Van Assche was even hungrier to capture his maiden title. At his final tournament of the year, the Maia Open, Van Assche rallied from a set down in the championship match to triumph.

Luca Van Assche celebrates a semi-final win at the 2022 Brest Challenger. Credit: Un Oeil Averty

“It was a great week for me, I’m so happy to win,” Van Assche said in his post-match press conference. “When I lost the first set [in the final], I was thinking about it like, ‘I cannot lose four finals!’ I continued to fight and it worked. It was my goal to win a Challenger this year and I did it at the last tournament of the year.”

Now at a career-high 138 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Van Assche is the youngest French player in the Top 200.

Van Assche is one of nine teenage Challenger champions this year and the youngest French winner since Corentin Moutet won the Brest Challenger in 2017. Following Van Assche’s title in Portugal, he joined an exclusive list of French Challenger champions aged 18 and under: Richard Gasquet, Sebastien Grosjean, Gael Monfils, Fabrice Santoro, and Moutet.

“I saw that stat the day after I won the title and those guys are a big inspiration for me and French players,” Van Assche said. “I’m very proud to be in that group and I want to have a big career like them.”

Luca Van Assche at the Brest Challenger. Credit: Un Oeil Averty

The #NextGenATP youngster has made quick progress in the early stages of his career. One of his most memorable moments came at Roland Garros in 2021, when Van Assche won the boys’ singles title, where he defeated his countryman and close friend Arthur Fils in the final.

“Winning the Roland Garros juniors title was very special to me,” Van Assche said. “I live in Paris, so it was home. I had my family and loved ones there. I could leave my junior career very happy, I was so proud.

“There were four French players in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros boys’ singles that year, it was very cool for us. I hope that the future of French tennis will be very good.”

Van Assche has many memories to look back on from this year, including making his Tour-level debut at the ATP 250 event in Antwerp, where he pushed Yoshihito Nishioka to a third-set tie-break. The Frenchman finished the season winning nine of his final 10 matches and now looks to build upon his success in 2023.

“My goal is to continue like how I ended the year, with a lot of confidence,” Van Assche said. “I’m just working hard every day and my goal is to be in the Top 100 as soon as possible.”

Cut through all the specialised training programmes and every ATP Tour player has one ultimate, yet simple goal for their game: make it a little bit better each day they step on the court or hit the gym.

The four men nominated for Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2022 ATP Awards succeeded in that pursuit more than most this season, their climbs up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings proof positive of their breakthrough years.

Up for the award this year are: Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jack Draper and Maxime Cressy. The winner will be announced later this month.

Carlos Alcaraz, 19
Billed as a budding superstar on the heels of a strong finish to 2021 — one that saw him reach the US Open quarter-finals and later claim the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals title — Alcaraz had a lot to live up to this season. The Spaniard not only met those lofty expectations, he exceeded them in record time.

After winning the first of his five titles on the year at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro to break into the Top 20, Alcaraz showed he could deliver on the game’s biggest stages by winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami after a semi-final run in Indian Wells. He then brought the show to his home fans, claiming a Spanish trophy double in Barcelona and Madrid, beating Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in succession in the latter event.

More success put Alcaraz in position to reach the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings at the US Open, and he took the chance with aplomb to become the youngest World No. 1 since the rankings began in 1973.

“For me it’s a dream come true being No. 1 in the world, to be a Grand Slam champion,” Alcaraz told the ATP Tour after the US Open.

“Everything has come so fast. I didn’t think at the beginning of the year that I’m going to have the year that I’m having right now,” he continued. “I always believe in my team and in my work, so this is something that came with the hard work that I put in every day, the hard preseason, the work during the year with my team. Everything pays off.”

Holger Rune, 19
Rune completed his rise from outside the Top 100 into the Top 10 with a stunning run to the biggest title of his career at the Rolex Paris Masters. By beating five Top 10 players in a row, including Djokovic in the final, the Dane earned himself a place in that elite group — and alternate status at the Nitto ATP Finals — before finishing the year as World No. 11.

It was a fitting end to a stellar indoor season for Rune, during which he reached four straight finals and won two titles (Stockholm, Paris). But his season began to sparkle long before the final months.

During the European clay swing, which he started with an ATP Challenger Tour title in Sanremo, Rune won his first tour-level title in Munich to break into the Top 50 for the first time. He backed that up with a breakout run to the Roland Garros quarter-finals, beating 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round. 

“It’s crazy in every way” Rune said of his season, speaking with ATP Media in Turin. “It’s been a lot of improvements, beginning the year as World No. 103, and now Top 10. I had a goal to finish Top 25 and now I’m Top 10, so it’s even better.”

Asked to pick out the biggest of those improvements, Rune pointed out his serve and first-serve percentage, his mental game and his physical development.

Jack Draper, 20
Great Britain’s Draper was the lowest-ranked of the four Most Improved nominees at the start of the year, entering 2022 as World No. 265. He put in the hard yards on the ATP Challenger Tour to kickstart his season, winning four titles in three months before taking his powerful lefty game to the ATP Tour.

He splashed onto the scene at tour-level with Top 20 wins against Taylor Fritz at The Queen’s Club and Diego Schwartzman in Eastbourne, going on to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final in the latter event on home soil. 

Draper built on those results during the hard-court swing, beating Top 10 opponents Stefanos Tsitsipas in Montreal and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open. Both of those wins made our lists of best upsets of 2022 on the ATP Tour and at the Grand Slams, respectively.

“I think the most satisfying run was [at] the US Open,” Draper told ATPTour.com ahead of the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, where he reached the semi-finals. “I feel I beat two players in [Emil] Ruusuvuori and Auger-Aliassime who are top players and people I have been watching the past couple of years. The win against Auger-Aliassime gave me confidence that I can play well and really compete with these guys. The Tsitsipas win as well in Montreal. Playing those top players and getting wins and feeling comfortable is crucial.”

Maxime Cressy, 25
Cressy had yet to break into the Top 100 prior to this season, but the Paris-born American had been trending in that direction since turning pro in 2019 following a four-year collegiate career at UCLA. A late bloomer on the ATP Tour, Cressy wasted no time in starting his rise up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this year as he fine-tuned his unique, serve-and-volley game.

In his first event, he reached the final as a qualifier at the Melbourne Summer Set and gave Nadal all he could handle in the title match. Cressy backed up that run with his best Grand Slam result as he advanced to the Australian Open fourth round, beating John Isner and taking a set off eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev before bowing out.

Firmly positioned in the Top 100, Cressy soared into the Top 50 after reaching his second ATP Tour final in Eastbourne before an upset win against Auger-Aliassime in the Wimbledon opening round. With his aggressive style perfectly suited to grass courts, Cressy won his first tour-level title on home soil in Newport in July with a third-set tie-break win against Alexander Bublik in the final.

“I think it’s the most incredible feeling that I’ve had in my entire life,” he told ATPTour.com after the victory. “It’s difficult to describe. I’ve been looking forward to that first title for a very long time.”

Refusing to be satisfied with his success to date, Cressy has been bold in setting himself a long-term target of reaching World No. 1.

The offseason is an opportunity for the players of the ATP Tour to enjoy time away from their typical routine. For most of the stars, it is an opportunity to sleep in.

Not for 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

“[I] wake up at six,” Dimitrov said. “I wake up very early!”

The Bulgarian enjoys taking in the world around him, as often seen on his social media pages. What does it take to snag the perfect offseason photo?

“You’ve just got to have the eye for it,” Dimitrov said. “Sometimes it’s one take, sometimes it doesn’t work. But then all of a sudden you get to the right place at the right time and boom, you have it.”

 

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Tommy Paul said his girlfriend enjoys spending time skiing in the mountains, so they plan to go to Colorado this offseason.

“I would say a good climate [is important],” Paul said. “I mean it could be warm or cold if it’s pretty. It’s just got to be in a pretty place.”

According to Karen Khachanov, the key to the offseason is the ability to spend time with his loved ones.

“My family,” Khachanov said. “During the year it’s a very intense season and you travel a lot, so that’s the only time when you can stay home a little bit more relaxed and you can stay with family.”

What would be the players’ advice to enjoy some time off? Denis Shapovalov’s answer might surprise you.

“Get off of your phone,” he said. “Just enjoy being in the moment.”

This week, ATPTour.com continues its annual season-in-review series, looking back at 2022’s best matches, biggest upsets, most dramatic comebacks and more. In this installment, we look back at Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s rivalry this year. On Monday we will focus on Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas’ rivalry.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are poised to compete against each other for the game’s biggest prizes for the next decade, with the 19-year-old Spaniard and 21-year-old Italian two of the most exciting and talented young players on the ATP Tour.

The pair opened its ATP Head2Head series at the end 2021, when Alcaraz scored a 7-6(1), 7-5 win at the Rolex Paris Masters. After three meetings in 2022, the matchup is now a bona fide rivalry built on mutual respect — particularly after the five-set US Open quarter-final epic which set a record for latest finish in New York.

ATPTour.com looks back on their three matches this season, which also included meetings in the Wimbledon fourth round and the Umag final.

Wimbledon, R16, Sinner d. Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3
Just hours after Wimbledon looked back to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Centre Court, Sinner and Alcaraz provided a glimpse of the future with their first Grand Slam meeting. It was the youngest match by combined age at SW19 since 1985.

In the first Centre Court match for both men, Sinner took control with his pure ballstriking and had two match points to wrap up the win in straight sets before Alcaraz found his rhythm to take the third-set tie-break. After converting on his fourth set point, the Spaniard raised his racquet as he soaked in the crowd’s roar.

As the match grew more physical, Sinner stemmed the tide with two battling holds to open the fourth set, then scored the decisive break to edge ever closer to his third major quarter-final. After missing out on three further match points on return at 5-3, Sinner saved a break point as he served out one of the most entertaining matches of the fortnight. A forehand winner — Sinner’s 35th of the match — completed the victory after three hours, 35 minutes.

“Carlos is a very tough opponent and a very nice person, so it is always a huge pleasure for me to play against him,” the Italian said in his on-court interview. The respect between the pair was on full display as Alcaraz checked on his opponent at net after Sinner fell while chasing a drop shot, the encounter sealed with a good-natured fist bump.

”It’s tough when you have match point, and you still have to play [on],” Sinner continued. “I tried my best. It is just part of the game, part of tennis.”

Photo Credit: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, Final, Sinner d. Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1
Sinner claimed his lone title of 2022 with a win against Alcaraz in Croatia, showing his resilience to dominate the final two sets of the match after dropping an opening set of razor-thin margins. With the rivals squaring off for the second time in four weeks, Sinner backed up his Wimbledon victory with a stylish win at the clay-court ATP 250.

Despite the scoreline, Sinner had to work hard for his comeback win as he saved all nine break points against him in the match. Six of those break chances came in the second game of set two, as Alcaraz looked to take command of the match.

But a few untimely unforced errors helped Sinner to hold, and the Italian was able to lift his game as he “found a solution” against the Spaniard — particularly on return, where he relentlessly attacked — to run away with the match.

“I am obviously very happy,” Sinner said after clinching his sixth tour-level title in his first clay final. “I have [had] a tough year until now, I had some unfortunate moments, but we worked every time to play better, to be a better player, to be a better person. I’m very happy to be finally lifting a trophy this year, but I know that I still have a lot of things to improve… It’s all about the process.”

Sinner’s win made it two final losses in as many weeks for Alcaraz, who fell to Lorenzo Musetti in the Hamburg title match the previous Sunday.

US Open, QF, Alcaraz d. Sinner 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3
In a match that topped our list of best Grand Slam matches of 2022, Alcaraz and Sinner battled later into the New York night than any before them. Across five hours, 15 minutes of twists and turns, the only constant was elite tennis and tireless effort from both men.

With Alcaraz and Sinner flashing their tremendous athleticism and power in equal measures, sensational rallies were the norm. From baseline blasts to surreal angles and deft drop shots, they took turns lighting up Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After he dominated the third-set tie-break to take a two-sets-to-one lead, Sinner carried his momentum into the fourth as he scored an instant break. But the fearless Alcaraz erased a match point with Sinner serving at 5-4 and went on a run of four straight games to force a fifth set. Again trailing by a break in the fifth, the Spaniard repeated that feat by winning four games in a row to claim a victory that will live long in the memory of both men and every fan who had the privilege to watch.

“Honestly, I still don’t know how I did it,” Alcaraz said of his great escape. “You have to believe in yourself. I believed in my game. It was really difficult to close out the match. I tried to stay calm, but it is difficult in the moment.”

He later added: “The energy I received in this court at 3 a.m., it was unbelievable. Probably in other tournaments, everybody [would go] to their house to rest. But they [stayed] in the court, supporting me. It was unbelievable.”

Just as unbelievable was the energy poured into every pulsating point by Alcaraz and Sinner in the standout match of what promises to be a long-running rivalry. Their ATP Head2Head is finely poised at 2-2 heading into 2023.

Photo Credit: Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images

Read more from our Best Of 2022 Series

A full complement of the ATP Tour’s best players are set to compete at the first Grand Slam of 2023, as confirmed by the Australian Open entry list released Thursday by Tennis Australia.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will bid for his third Australian Open crown after his historic 2022 triumph, when he battled from two sets down in the final to defeat Daniil Medvedev and win a record-breaking 21st major singles title. The Spaniard enters the 2023 season with a record 22 Slam trophies, with Novak Djokovic right behind him on 21.

Djokovic will seek to extend his record of nine AO titles and draw level with Nadal in the overall major count as he returns to the competition for the first time since he beat Medvedev in the 2021 final.

Carlos Alcaraz will play a Grand Slam as the World No. 1 for the first time as he seeks to win back-to-back majors following his US Open triumph in September. By winning his first Slam trophy in New York, Alcaraz secured his debut atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, becoming the youngest man to achieve that feat since the first edition of the rankings in 1973. The Spaniard maintained that position to earn year-end No. 1 honours and has an opportunity to extend his lead atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings by improving on his third-round result one year ago in Melbourne.

Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas round out the Top 5 on the entry list, with the Greek Tsitsipas eager to improve on his three semi-finals showings at the event, including in each of the past two years.

2022 Nitto ATP Finals competitors Felix Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz are also among the direct entrants, with Hubert Hurkacz rounding out the Top 10. Other notable names include Holger Rune, who briefly entered the Top 10 in November, and Alexander Zverev, who has not played a tour-level match since his ankle injury during the Roland Garros semi-finals.

The 2023 Australian Open will take place at Melbourne Park from 16-29 January.