Emma Raducanu named WTA newcomer of the year
British number one Emma Raducanu has been named newcomer of the year by the Women’s Tennis Association.
British number one Emma Raducanu has been named newcomer of the year by the Women’s Tennis Association.
Novak Djokovic is named in Serbia’s team for the ATP Cup in Sydney despite uncertainty over his vaccination status.
Continuing our Best of 2021 Season In Review series, ATPTour.com revisits the biggest rivalries of 2019. Today we feature Daniil Medvedev vs. Alexander Zverev
Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev headed into 2021 with the same goal as they looked to close the gap on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and capture their first major titles.
The pair, however, would also have to overcome each other if they wanted to lift the biggest trophies on Tour, with Medvedev holding the edge entering the year, having won their past two meetings.
In 2021, It did not take long for the two to renew their rivalry.
ATP Cup, SF, Medvedev d. Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
In just the first week of the season, Medvedev and Zverev met in Melbourne as they competed for Russia and Germany respectively at the ATP Cup.
The World No. 2 had swept aside Diego Schwartzman and Kei Nishikori in his opening two matches of the year, while Zverev had downed Denis Shapovalov before he lost to Novak Djokovic in three sets.
Playing under the closed roof on Rod Laver Arena, Medvedev played patiently as he overcame a serving onslaught from the 24-year-old by adjusting his return position, standing deeper behind the baseline to rally from a break down in the second set. In a tight decider, a double fault from Zverev gave Medvedev the late break at 6-5 and from there he secured victory, fending off five break points in his final service game to win.
“When it’s against Sascha and you are 6-3, 3-2 break down, many times you’re going to lose a match,” Medvedev said. “But I needed to keep my chances alive for the team first of all, for the country. I just tried to stay there, got a bit tight maybe. I just did my job and I’m really happy about it.”
Rolex Paris Masters, SF, Medvedev d. Zverev 6-2, 6-2
After nine months, Medvedev and Zverev faced off once again in Paris in November at the final ATP Masters 1000 event of the season. In that time, the German had captured titles in Madrid and Cincinnati and won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Medvedev had not fared too badly either, earning his maiden major title at the US Open, while also triumphing in Marseille, Mallorca and Toronto.
Despite Zverev entering the match on an eight-match winning streak, the German looked flat, and it was the Russian who controlled proceedings throughout in the French capital. Medvedev saved all three break points he faced and soaked up the German’s powerful hitting, committing just eight unforced errors to level their ATP Head2Head series at 5-5.
“We had a tough match,” Medvedev said. “Sometimes the score doesn’t show exactly what happened on the court. I am happy to have this score, but he had 2-1, 15/40 in the first set on my serve. I think this first break of serve when you play Sascha is really important because he gains confidence. I am really happy I managed to raise my level throughout the match and I didn’t make too many unforced errors.”
Nitto ATP Finals, Round Robin, Medvedev d. Zverev 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(6)
In one of the matches of the season, Medvedev and Zverev went blow-to-blow for two hours and 35 minutes in group play in Turin, before the Russian once again came out on top.
Both came into the match holding a 1-0 round-robin record after Medvedev downed Hubert Hurkacz, while Zverev had led Matteo Berrettini by a set before the Italian was forced to retire due to injury.
The pair, who also met in the round-robin stage at the season finale in 2020, played attacking tennis, with Medvedev successfully soaking up the German’s heavy-hitting. Medvedev looked to attack Zverev’s backhand and did so successfully as he dominated the backhand exchanges to secure victory in front of a raucous crowd at the Pala Alpitour in Turin to reach the semi-finals.
In a tense third-set tie-break, Medvedev found a deep return on his backhand to move 6/4 ahead, but Zverev stepped up to save both match points as Medvedev attempted to serve and volley. However, it only delayed the outcome, with Medvedev sealing victory on his third match point when Zverev hit a backhand into the net.
“Definitely one of the matches to remember,” Medvedev said. “When you win 8/6 in the tie-break in the third, it was 4/2 for him so I was like ‘Okay, he serves a few aces it’s done’. I made it 6/4 and I was like ‘Okay, that’s my moment now’. It’s back to 6/6, you get really tight, because I wanted to make a brave move on the 6/5 second serve and volley, didn’t work out at all. If I lose the match because of this it’s going to be tough… Just an amazing feeling.”
Nitto ATP Finals, Final, Zverev d. Medvedev 6-4, 6-4
Having upset World No. 1 Djokovic in the semi-finals, Zverev had the chance to gain revenge against Medvedev just five days later in the final in Turin.
The 25-year-old had cruised past Casper Ruud to reach the championship match and many thought he would be the fresher of the two. However, Zverev produced a strong serving performance as he demonstrated his quality and grit to snap his five-match losing streak against the Russian and clinch his second Nitto ATP Finals crown.
Zverev fired eight aces, won 83 per cent (33/40) of his first-serve points and did not face a break point in the match to become just the fourth player in the tournament’s history to earn semi-final and final wins over the Top 2 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
The German also struck more forehands against Medvedev in the final compared to their round-robin clash, hitting 57 per cent of forehands, 10 per cent more than earlier in the week. It allowed Zverev to hit his potent forehand weapon more and he forced Medvedev to rely a lot less on his proverbial brick-wall backhand.
Medvedev was aiming to retain his title, having won his past nine matches at the prestigious season finale. But he could never apply pressure on Zverev as the German outmanoeuvred him to earn his tour-leading 59th win of the year.
“It was great,” Zverev said. “I won the [Nitto ATP] Finals, in the final against someone I had lost five times in a row, so I had to play one of my best matches. I am happy about that and happy to go on holiday with this win.”
Medvedev vs. Zverev In 2021
|
Event |
Surface |
Round |
Winner |
Score |
|
ATP Cup |
Hard |
SF |
Medvedev |
3-6, 6-3, 7-5 |
|
Rolex Paris Masters |
Hard |
SF |
Medvedev |
6-2, 6-2 |
|
Nitto ATP Finals |
Hard | Round Robin |
Medvedev |
6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(6) |
| Nitto ATP Finals |
Hard |
Final |
Zverev |
6-4, 6-4 |
Best of 2021 Rivalries
Novak Djokovic vs. Daniil Medvedev
The 16 countries set to compete in the third edition of the ATP Cup, which will feature 18 of the Top 20 players in the FedEx ATP Rankings, were assigned to four groups at the official tournament draw on Tuesday in Australia. The team event will take place in Sydney from 1-9 January 2022.
Top seed Serbia, headlined by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, will lead Group A, which will also features Norway, Chile and Spain. Two years ago, Serbia lifted the trophy at the inaugural ATP Cup by defeating Spain in the championship match.
Second seed Russia, the defending champion, is in Group B, which includes Italy, Austria and home nation Australia. World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 5 Andrey Rublev will be their country’s top two singles players for the second consecutive year.
Germany, led by reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev, headlines Group C along with Canada, Great Britain and the United States. Fourth seed Greece, with Stefanos Tsitsipas atop the lineup, will be in Group D, which also consists of Poland, Argentina and Georgia.
Photo Credit: Jaimi Chisholm/Getty Images
ATP Chief Tour Officer Ross Hutchins said: “There’s no better place for us to launch the 2022 season than with the ATP Cup in Sydney. The players have loved competing at this event in recent years and the 2022 player field speaks for itself. We’re delighted that fans will be able to see so many of the world’s best representing their countries in the opening week of the season and we look forward to a fantastic event.”
ATP Cup Tournament Director Tom Larner said: “We’re excited to host the third edition of the ATP Cup in Sydney in 2022. The playing group enjoy representing their countries and to see 18 of the world’s Top 20 players commit to the event is testament to that. The event shows off the passion the playing group have for this format and we look forward to welcoming all 16 teams to Sydney later this month.”
The draw was conducted in the ATP Cup studio by Australian legends Mark Philippoussis and John Fitzgerald.
This year’s nine-day event will be played in Sydney at Ken Rosewall Arena and Qudos Bank Arena. Following the group stage, the four group winners will advance to the knock-out semi-finals to compete for the trophy. Alongside the event in Week One, there will be ATP 250 events in Adelaide and Melbourne.
Each country at the 2022 ATP Cup will field a team of up to five players, with each tie comprising two singles matches and one doubles match. The No. 2 singles players compete against each other before the No. 1 singles, followed by doubles.
Tickets for the ATP Cup will go on sale via ATPCup.com on Friday 10 December. The schedule will be released tomorrow.
Follow the latest ATP Cup news and live updates at ATPCup.com and on Twitter and Instagram.
LIST OF QUALIFIED COUNTRIES AND COMMITTED PLAYERS
| Serbia Novak Djokovic Dusan Lajovic Filip Krajinovic Nikola Cacic Matej Sabanov |
Great Britain Cameron Norrie Daniel Evans Liam Broady Joe Salisbury Jamie Murray |
| Russia Daniil Medvedev Andrey Rublev Aslan Karatsev Roman Safiullin Evgeny Donskoy |
Argentina Diego Schwartzman Federico Delbonis Federico Coria Maximo Gonzalez Andres Molteni |
| Germany Alexander Zverev Jan-Lennard Struff Yannick Hanfmann Kevin Krawietz Tim Puetz |
Austria Dominic Thiem Dennis Novak Lucas Miedler Oliver Marach Philipp Oswald |
| Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas Michail Pervolorakis Petros Tsitsipas Markos Kalovelonis Aristotelis Thanos |
Chile Cristian Garin Alejandro Tabilo Tomas Barrios Vers
|
|
Italy |
Spain Roberto Bautista Agut Pablo Carreno Busta Albert Ramos-Vinolas Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Pedro Martinez |
| Norway Casper Ruud Viktor Durasovic Lukas Hellum-Lilleengen Leyton Rivera Andreja Petrovic |
Georgia Nikoloz Basilashvili Aleksandre Metreveli Aleksandre Bakshi Zura Tkemaladze Saba Purtseladze |
| Poland Hubert Hurkacz Kamil Majchrzak Kacper Zuk Jan Zielinski Szymon Walkow |
United States |
| Canada Felix Auger-Aliassime Denis Shapovalov Brayden Schnur Peter Polansky Steven Diez |
Australia (WC) |
The Comeback Player of the Year award in the 2021 ATP Awards goes to the player who has overcome injury to re-establish himself as one of the top players on Tour. This year’s nominees are Thanasi Kokkinakis, Mackenzie McDonald, Andy Murray and Jack Sock. The winner, as selected by the players, will be announced later this month.
| Player | Career-High Before Comeback |
Lowest Ranking In 2021 |
Highest Ranking In 2021 (Difference) |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis | No. 69 | No. 267 | No. 171 (+96) |
| Mackenzie McDonald | No. 57 | No. 194 | No. 54 (+140) |
| Andy Murray | No. 1 | No. 172 | No. 102 (+70) |
| Jack Sock | No. 8 | No. 273 | No. 146 (+127) |
Thanasi Kokkinakis
The Australian has struggled with injuries throughout his career, and in 2020 he did not play a match due to a right shoulder injury. But this year, Kokkinakis has showed that he is on the way back to his best.
The former World No. 69 earned his first Australian Open main draw win since 2015 against Soonwoo Kwon and then played some of his best tennis to push Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in the second round. He maintained that form in Miami, qualifying and advancing to the second round.
Kokkinakis won his fourth ATP Challenger Tour title in Biella, Italy and made another Challenger final in Sibiu, Romania, helping him climb as high as No. 171 in the FedEx ATP Rankings this year.
“Every injury is a massive setback,” Kokkinakis said in Miami. “It’s [about] just trying to build yourself up again and keep going and that sort of stuff takes a toll and a lot of people don’t realise that unless they’ve been in that sort of position, so I’m fortunate to be playing again and try not to take it for granted.”
Photo Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour
Mackenzie McDonald
The American underwent right hamstring surgery in June 2019, a difficult blow for a player who uses his movement to his advantage. But 2021 was the 26-year-old’s best season yet.
McDonald advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open — his best performance at a major since Wimbledon in 2018 — and never looked back. The former UCLA Bruin’s most impressive result came at the Citi Open in Washington, where at the ATP 500 he eliminated defending champion Nick Kyrgios and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori en route to the final.
“It means a lot [that I got my level back] because it was a really tough time and I don’t think many people really know [what it is like]. Or at least for me, you don’t really think about that until it happens to you,” McDonald said during the Australian Open. “That was a major injury, a major surgery, and it was honestly really scary because [I did] not walk for as long as I did and everything that I went through was a big wake-up. So I’m really happy to be back here.”
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/Citi Open
Andy Murray
The former World No. 1 continued his long road back from 2019 hip surgery this year and showed plenty of signs of progress.
In his first appearance at The Championships since 2017, Murray made the third round. He also tested Tsitsipas at the US Open, where the Greek needed five sets to triumph. The Scot’s biggest victories of the year came later on, when he defeated Nitto ATP Finals competitors Hubert Hurkacz in Vienna and Jannik Sinner in Stockholm. He also beat Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he lost a tight two-setter against Alexander Zverev in the third round.
More impressive than his victories has been his determination. Although he did not make a tour-level semi-final, Murray is confident all his hard work will pay off.
“I’m not going to keep losing in the second and third round of tournaments. I will get better and I will improve and I will break through in one week, or two weeks, or a few months,” Murray said in October in Vienna. “It will happen.”
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Jack Sock
The American has admittedly hit low points in recent years, losing his FedEx ATP Ranking entirely after undergoing surgery to repair two ligaments in his thumb in February 2019. But Sock did well in 2021 to build back towards the top.
The former World No. 8 battled Rafael Nadal to the brink at the Citi Open, where he fell just short against the legendary Spaniard in a final-set tie-break. That was a sign of things to come for Sock, who played lights-out tennis in the first set of his US Open clash against Alexander Zverev before an upper right leg injury forced him to retire from that match.
“Everyone knows that road back is basically starting over. I didn’t even have a number next to my name for a ranking. There was definitely a real conversation whether we were going to do this or not,” Sock said during the US Open. “I’m happy with what I’ve done in my career. I would say I’ve had a very successful career to this point, but we did feel there was still some, if not a lot left in the tank and a lot of good tennis still ahead of me.
“Maybe some of my best tennis is still ahead of me, so I’m just trying to prove that one week at a time, one match at a time.”
Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic today celebrates his 350th week atop the FedEx ATP Rankings, extending his record for the most weeks in top spot.
It was a historic season for the Serbian star, who finished year-end No. 1 for the record-breaking seventh time, moving ahead of his idol, Pete Sampras (6). On 8 March he broke a tie with Roger Federer (310 weeks) for the most weeks at World No. 1 since the inception of the FedEx ATP Rankings in 1973. Djokovic has not looked back since.
“It really excites me to walk the path of legends and giants of this sport,” Djokovic said at the time. “To know that I have earned my place among them by following my childhood dream is a beautiful confirmation that when you do things out of love and passion, everything is possible.”
Djokovic finished 2021 with a 55-7 record, claiming major titles at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while also lifting trophies at the Belgrade Open and the Rolex Paris Masters. His current stint at World No. 1 began nearly two years ago, on 3 February 2020.
The 34-year-old will have a chance to make more history next year. Djokovic can surpass WTA legend Stefanie Graf’s record for most weeks at World No. 1 in men’s or women’s tennis. The German held top spot for 377 weeks.
This week ATP Tour begins its annual season-in-review series, looking back at 2021’s best matches, biggest upsets, most dramatic comebacks and more. This week we look at the most compelling rivalries of the year, beginning with Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. The players ended the year at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the FedEx ATP Rankings following a season in which they shared three high-stakes showdowns.
Throughout his career, Novak Djokovic has enjoyed epic rivalries with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But with a new generation of stars on the rise, the Serbian is facing new threats, none bigger than from Daniil Medvedev.
The Russian ended the 2020 season by capturing the Nitto ATP Finals title, defeating Djokovic in the round-robin stage, which saw the Monte-Carlo resident enter the 2021 season having won three of his past four meetings against the World No. 1. By the start of the season Medvedev had narrowed his ATP Head2Head series deficit against Djokovic to 3-4.
Set on turning the tables, Djokovic faced Medvedev three times in 2021 in a determined mood. All meetings came in finals and both players adjusted tactics after earlier defeats to turn the tables on their rival.
Australian Open, Final, Djokovic d. Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2
Djokovic has made Melbourne a second home throughout his career, having dominated the first major of the season. The 34-year-old faced Medvedev in the championship match aiming to join 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal as only the second man to win nine or more titles at the same major event.
But unlike in previous years, the Serbian’s route to the final had been anything but smooth. After battling past Taylor Fritz in five sets and Milos Raonic and Alexander Zverev in four, many gave Medvedev a big chance, with the World No. 2 dispatching Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas without dropping a set. Medvedev was also on a 20-match winning streak, having helped guide Russia to the ATP Cup title earlier in February to continue his red-hot end-of-season form from 2020.
However, Djokovic reminded everyone why he is the king in Australia, producing a masterclass against Medvedev in the final to capture his 18th major title. The top seed marched to a 3-0 lead within 10 minutes and never looked back, returning with depth and accuracy to secure his victory.
With Djokovic and Medvedev both possessing rock solid backhands from the baseline, the World No. 1 targeted the Russian’s forehand throughout, extracting 33 errors from that wing as he dictated the forehand exchanges.
“Everyone talks about the new generation coming and taking over us, but realistically that isn’t happening still,” Djokovic said. “We can talk about it all day but with all my respect to the other guys, they still have a lot of work to do. I’m not going to stand here and hand it over to them. I’m going to make them work their ass off for that.”
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images
US Open, Final, Medvedev d. Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
After meeting in the first major final of the season, the pair did not face each other again until the final major championship match of the year at the US Open. In that time, Djokovic had captured the trophy at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and was trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors in one season.
The Serbian, who triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2011, 2015 and 2018, was also aiming to break a tie with Federer and Nadal for the most major titles in history (20 each). Medvedev, meanwhile, was seeking his maiden Slam title and had swept through the draw for the loss of just one set.
With history beckoning and all eyes on Djokovic, Medvedev spoiled the party, stunning the World No. 1 in straight sets. The Russian, who lost to Nadal in the US Open final in 2019, controlled the match from the start as he changed up the tactics from his Australian Open defeat.
Medvedev successfully overloaded the Ad court with a foray of backhand-to-backhand exchanges, where he could neutralise and frustrate Djokovic with his ultra-flat backhand that proved difficult to attack. The Serbian ended up hitting 39 more backhands than forehands in the match, something which helped Medvedev win the longer rallies. The 25-year-old hit 16 winners compared to Djokovic’s six and committed five fewer errors (33-38), serving out the clash at the second time of asking to secure his biggest career win.
“He had a lot of pressure,” Medvedev said. “I had a lot of pressure, too… I knew I cannot give him easy serves because that’s what he likes. So that was the plan. Because of the confidence in a lot of tight moments, I managed to do it well.”
“I would like to say that tonight, even though I have not won the match, my heart is filled with joy and I’m the happiest man alive because you guys made me feel very special,” Djokovic told the crowd. “You guys touched my soul. I’ve never felt like this in New York… I love you guys. Thank you so much for the support and everything you have done tonight for me. I love you and I’ll see you soon.”
Rolex Paris Masters, Final, Djokovic d. Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
One day after clinching a record seventh year-end No. 1 finish in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Djokovic looked to create more history against Medvedev and put his US Open final defeat behind him as he changed up the chessboard to gain revenge.
Medvedev came into the match off the back of a straight-sets semi-final win against Alexander Zverev, while Djokovic had edged Hubert Hurkacz in the last four. It meant it was the first time the Paris final had featured the top two players in the FedEx ATP Rankings since 1990.
In an entertaining match, Djokovic served and volleyed 22 times, winning 27 of 36 points at the net and striking 38 winners, dominating Medvedev in rallies under five shots (54 to 34) as he disrupted Medvedev’s rhythm from the baseline.
Djokovic’s first volley was cleverly hit short in the court with angle, which worked with Medvedev standing very deep in the court to return serve.
It was Djokovic’s 48th match win of a standout season and he broke a tie with Nadal for the most ATP Masters 1000 titles, lifting his 37th crown.
“I went back and reviewed the final of the US Open to see what I did wrong and what I did right,” Djokovic said. “I tried to read the patterns of his serve and the ball toss, maybe. I tried to look for the small details because it was a match of small margins. He started better, broke my serve in the first game and I came back. He served the first set out pretty comfortably, but I felt as if I was there.”
Djokovic vs. Medvedev In 2021
|
Event |
Surface |
Round |
Winner |
Score |
|
Australian Open |
Hard |
Final |
Djokovic |
7-5, 6-2, 6-2 |
|
US Open |
Hard | Final |
Medvedev |
6-4, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Rolex Paris Masters |
Hard |
Final |
Djokovic |
4-6, 6-3, 6-3 |
The ITF says it has not followed the WTA in suspending tournaments in China because it “does not want to punish a billion people”.
Daniil Medvedev delivered once again Sunday to guide the Russian Tennis Federation to the Davis Cup Finals Title against Croatia in Madrid.
The World No. 2, who did not drop a set at the tournament, overcame Marin Cilic 7-6(7), 6-2 in 89 minutes to secure victory for the Russian Tennis Federation.
Medvedev was strong on serve, firing eight aces and winning 87 per cent (34/39) of points behind his first delivery. It is the third time the Russian Tennis Federation has won the Davis Cup, also triumphing in 2002 and 2006.
“It feels amazing,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I am more happy for the team than myself. We have an amazing team with an amazing atmosphere and I am just happy to be able to be part of this team to win the points we needed. It was an amazing two weeks. I am really happy.”
Earlier, Andrey Rublev had set the wheels in motion, downing Borna Gojo 6-4, 7-6(5) to give the Russian Tennis Federation a 1-0 lead. The 24-year-old did not face a break point and hit 18 winners to win after one hour and 33 minutes.
“It was super tough,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “There was a lot of pressure on me. Borna was playing unbelievably for the past two weeks. He has been some amazing players and was amazing today. I will enjoy the moment.”
The Russian Tennis Federation take a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup final after Andrey Rublev beats Borna Gojo in straight sets.
