Davis Cup Finals: Great Britain & Serbia given wildcards for 2022 event
Great Britain and Serbia are awarded wildcards into next year’s Davis Cup Finals, which means they avoid having to play a qualifier.
Great Britain and Serbia are awarded wildcards into next year’s Davis Cup Finals, which means they avoid having to play a qualifier.
Daniil Medvedev puts the Russian Tennis Federation into the Davis Cup final with a dominant win over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev produced dominant performances Saturday at the Davis Cup Finals to guide the Russian Tennis Federation to victory against Germany in Madrid.
In the first match of the tie, Rublev cruised past Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-0 after 49 minutes to give the former champion’s the perfect start.
The World No. 5, who has also beaten Roberto Quiroz and Elias Ymer this week, won 84 per cent (27/32) of his first-serve points and fired nine aces to triumph.
Medvedev then sealed victory for the Russian Tennis Federation, overcoming Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4 in 66 minutes. The 25-year-old committed just six unforced errors and saved the one break point he faced.
The Russian Tennis Federation plays Croatia in the final on Sunday.
“I am really happy for the team to be in the final,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “It has been an amazing week. It won’t be easy [against Croatia]. They have the best doubles team in the world, we need to try to close it out in singles, but we believe in our guys in doubles.”
Novak Djokovic cannot prevent Serbia missing out on the Davis Cup final as he and Filip Krajinovic lose in the decisive doubles against Croatia.
Felix Auger-Aliassime was presented this week in the ATP’s Monaco office with a trophy to celebrate his breakthrough into the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings last month.
The Canadian star on 15 November reached a career-high World No. 10 after reaching the semi-finals of the Stockholm Open. He ended his season at World No. 11.
Felix is the third Canadian singles player to crack the Top 10 since the inception of the FedEx ATP Rankings in 1973. The 21-year-old joined Milos Raonic, who achieved the milestone in 2013, and Denis Shapovalov, who accomplished the feat in 2020.
Auger-Aliassime reached two ATP Tour finals this year — at the Murray River Open in Melbourne and the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. He also made his maiden major quarter-final at Wimbledon and semi-final at the US Open.
Auger-Aliassime was one of four players who reached the Top 10 for the first time this year, joining Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner.
Novak Djokovic did double duty at the Davis Cup Finals once again Friday, but this time it was not enough to give Serbia a victory.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic defeated Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-1 to complete Croatia’s 2-1 triumph against Serbia, sending their country into the championship tie in Madrid. Croatia will face the Russian Tennis Federation or Germany for the trophy.
In front of Real Madrid star Luka Modric, Mektic and Pavic were cool under pressure. The Croatians grew stronger as the rubber went on, and after Djokovic missed a final forehand return, the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Doubles Team lifted their arms in celebration.
Djokovic won his singles and doubles (w/Nikola Cacic) rubbers in the quarter-finals against Kazakhstan. On Friday, he made a good start by claiming the No. 1 singles rubber against former World No. 3 Marin Cilic, but the Croatian tandem was too strong in doubles.
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
The 34-year-old saved all eight break points he faced against Cilic earlier in the day and hit 13 winners to overcome his opponent 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.
“It was always going to be a tough match against Marin,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “The first set was over an hour, with some very close games. I saved myself. Winning the first set gave me a lot of confidence for the second set. It was a nervy start for both of us, we both knew the significance of this match.”
In the first match of the day, in the critical No. 2 singles rubber, World No. 279 Borna Gojo upset Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 after two hours and one minute to give Croatia a 1-0 advantage. The 23-year-old, who has also beaten Alexei Popyrin and Lorenzo Sonego this event, won 77 per cent (36/47) of his first-serve points to triumph.
Newcomer of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards goes to the #NextGenATP player who entered the Top 100 for the first time in 2021* and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour this season. There are five nominees this year: Sebastian Baez, Jenson Brooksby, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Hugo Gaston and Brandon Nakashima.
ATP Awards winners will be revealed later this month.
| Player | Age | Career-High (Date) |
| Sebastian Baez | 20 | No. 97 (November 22) |
| Jenson Brooksby | 21 | No. 56 (November 1) |
| Juan Manuel Cerundolo | 20 | No. 85 (November 1) |
| Hugo Gaston | 21 | No. 66 (November 22) |
| Brandon Nakashima | 20 | No. 62 (November 15) |
Sebastian Baez, 20 (Argentina)
The 20-year-old Sebastian Baez enjoyed a memorable 2021 season as he became the youngest player in ATP Challenger Tour history to win six titles at this level in a season, while also claiming the most match wins in a single year among players aged 20 and under (44).
The Argentine began the season just outside the Top 300 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, but cracked the Top 100 for the first time at the end of November after triumphing in the Campinas final.
The World No. 98 spent the majority of the season playing in South America, but showed off his talent to the world at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where he reached the semi-finals at the Allianz Cloud.
Jenson Brooksby, 21 (United States)
Jenson Brooksby had earned just one tour-level win before the 2021 season and sat outside the Top 300 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. However, following a series of standout results, the American soared up the rankings this year, ending the campaign at No. 56.
The 21-year-old reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Newport, before he advanced to the fourth round at a major for the first time on home soil at the US Open, defeating Aslan Karatsev and countryman Taylor Fritz before losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets.
Brooksby also reached tour-level semi-finals in Washington and Antwerp and captured three ATP Challenger Tour trophies.
Juan Manuel Cerundolo, 20 (Argentina)
Juan Manuel Cerundolo stunned the field at the Cordoba Open in February as he came through qualifying at the ATP 250 event to become the first player to lift a trophy on his ATP Tour debut since 2004.
The 20-year-old, who had won eight straight matches to claim the Cordoba title, then triumphed at three clay-court ATP Challenger Tour tournaments, ending the season No. 90 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after starting outside the Top 300.
Cerundolo’s results saw him qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, where he was the only player to take a set off champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Hugo Gaston, 21 (France)
Hugo Gaston’s flair and agility gained the Frenchman further attention in 2021 after he gave the world a glimpse of his potential at Roland Garros last year.
In a breakthrough season, the 21-year-old rose into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings in November following his run to the last eight at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he qualified and become the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament since World No. 121 Michael Llodra in 2012.
Earlier this year, the World No. 67 reached his first tour-level final at the Swiss Open Gstaad and also advanced to four ATP Challenger Tour championship matches.
Brandon Nakashima, 20 (United States)
America’s Brandon Nakashima continued to make strong and steady progress in 2021 as he climbed from No. 166 in the FedEx ATP Rankings at the start of the year to a career-high No. 62 in November.
Prior to his 20th birthday, Nakashima became the youngest American to reach multiple tour-level finals since Andy Roddick went 5-2 in finals as a teenager in 2001-02, after runs in Los Cabos and Atlanta.
Nakashima also showcased his talent at ATP Challenger Tour events in Quimper and Brest, clinching the title at both tournaments in France, before he enjoyed a run to the semi-finals at the 21-and-under event in Milan to round out his strong season.
* Previous Newcomer of the Year nominees are not eligible
How did a former Wimbledon mixed doubles player end up taking on China over a case that is “bigger than business”?
The Russian Tennis Federation claim the last spot in the Davis Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Sweden.
Daniil Medvedev overcame a spirited Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-4 Thursday at the Davis Cup Finals to clinch the Russian Tennis Federation’s victory against Sweden and book its spot in the semi-finals in Madrid.
The 25-year-old was made to work hard against Ymer, who broke Medvedev’s serve three times. However, the World No. 2 produced flashes of brilliance, firing 14 winners to triumph after 72 minutes. Medvedev has now won all six sets he has played at the Davis Cup Finals this year.
“I should have served better but I am really happy to bring the point to the team,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “Madrid feels like home, we are winning a lot of matches, we beat Spain the other day. It was a great boost of confidence to beat the home favourites.”
Earlier, Andrey Rublev survived a scare, edging Elias Ymer 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3) in two hours and 13 minutes to give the Russian Tennis Federation a 1-0 advantage.
Rublev recovered from squandering a 5-3 lead in the second set as he showed patience to secure his victory. Ymer fended off all seven break points he faced in the decider, but Rublev made his pressure count in the tie-break to triumph.
The Russian Tennis Federation will face Germany in the semi-finals Saturday.
