Tennis: ATP Cup launches a season already disrupted by the virus

Since 2020, it has been the unofficial start of the season on the men's circuit and for the third edition, the Covid has forced the organizers to organize their event.

Originally scheduled to pit 24 countries against each other, the ATP Cup (January 1-9) saw that number reduced to 12 last year in Melbourne due to the pandemic, a figure increased to 16 this year.

But there will not be in Sydney the Russian Andrey Rublev (5th in the world), the Spaniard Rafael Nadal (n ° 6) or the Canadian Denis Shapovalov (n ° 14), forced to withdraw after having tested positive in Covid, for the last on his arrival in Australia. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has chosen to ignore the tournament, further fueling rumors of a forfeit for the Australian Open, of which he is however the three-time defending champion and where he could break the record for Grand Slam titles.

To allow entry into Australia, authorities require foreign travelers to be vaccinated, but the Serbian has taken anti-vaccine positions in the past and maintains doubts about his vaccination status.

Another notable withdrawal, that of Dominic Thiem (n ° 15) who, combined with that of his compatriot Dennis Novak, led Austria to forfeit and to the last minute repechage of France.

Russia as a favorite

In the absence of Djokovic and several Top 10 players, defending champion Russia are favorites to their own succession. But Rublev and his teammates will have to count on Germany from world No.3 Alexander Zverev and Greece from World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, supported by the boiling Greek community in Sydney. "I have every confidence in my team, representing Greece for us at this level means a lot," Tsitsipas warned. "We, the Greeks, we excel in team events as we show in football and basketball, it's in our DNA, we like to play this kind of events, it's where we give the best of us "same", he assured.

Other players ranked in the World Top 20 include Norway's Casper Ruud (No.8), Pole Hubert Hurkacz (No.9), Italians Matteo Berrettini (No.7) and Jannik Sinner (No.10) or the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (n ° 11). Also watch out for Spain, certainly without Nadal but with Roberto Bautista (n ° 19) and Pablo Carreno Busta (n ° 20), which could create a surprise. "In this competition, given its formula, it is important to have a good team with a good n ° 2, n ° 3 and n ° 4, not just a good n ° 1", recalled Carreno Busta who had allowed Spain to reach the final with Nadal in 2020 before losing to Djokovic's Serbia. Another era for tennis, before the Covid ...

Group A: Serbia, Norway, Chile, Spain;

Group B: Russia, France, Italy, Australia;

Group C: Germany, Canada, Great Britain, United States;

Group D: Greece, Poland, Argentina, Georgia.

Calendar.

Group stage, until January 6;

1st semi-final: winner of group A against winner of group D, on January 7;

2nd semi-final: winner of group B against winner of group C, on January 8;

Final on January 9.