Reduced program
The ATP Cup team tournament gave a full start to the new season in men's tennis.
Although back in January, the first titles were played in Antelier and Delray Beach, still only one player from the top ten of the world rankings played there.
All the athletes from the top 14 arrived in Melbourne, with the exception of the Swiss Roger Federer.
Among them were the Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrei Rublev, who have already won their first victories over the Argentine national team.
The second ATP Cup draw will not be as big as last year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the competition program had to be significantly reduced.
Instead of 24 teams, the organizers invited only 12, dividing them into four groups at the preliminary stage.
The playoffs now start immediately from the semi-finals.
Each team can play no more than four matches, and players will earn no more than 500 rating points - a year ago there were 750 points at stake.
Nevertheless, the tournament still gathered a whole scattering of stars.
This is largely due to the proximity of the Australian Open - less than a week is left before its start, and many tennis players really lack playing practice.
Some ATP Cup participants in recent weeks have not even been able to train due to strict quarantines, which they were required to comply with at the request of local authorities.
The Russian national team could be called one of the main favorites of the ATP Cup even before the start.
Only her first two numbers are in the top ten tennis players in the world and were one of the main characters of the last season.
Together with Medvedev and Rublev, Aslan Karatsev and Yevgeny Donskoy entered the team, on whose shoulders were assigned the responsibility for the pairs in which the results of not only individual matches, but also the playoff tickets could be decided.
A fairly even squad was also put forward by the Serbs, whose leader is the first racket of the world Novak Djokovic, and his first assistant is Dusan Lajovic.
The Spaniards gathered under their banner Rafael Nadal and Robert Bautista Agut.
True, the vice-leader of the world rankings felt bad on the first day of the competition and did not go to court.
Finally, Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic, the 12th and 14th rackets of the world from Canada, could be attributed to the dark horses of the ATP Cup.
Rublyov's quick victory
The first rivals of the Russians in the ATP Cup were the Argentines, and the match between them opened with a meeting between Andrei Rublev and the 44th racket of the world Guido Pella.
In the past, tennis players have played once - three years ago, the Russian took over in Qatar in a tie-break in the third set.
In the new fight, the owner of the eighth line of the world rating was the clear favorite, but not so much because of the level of tennis shown, but because of the problems of the Argentine himself.
Pella was one of those tennis players who observed strict quarantine in Australia and could not, because of this, conduct full training.
The Argentinean did not manage to impose at least some kind of struggle.
It took Rublev only 26 minutes to win the first game, ending it with a series of five games in his favor.
In the second set, Pella was able to escape from two break points in the third game, but his exploits ended there, and an hour after the start, the Russian celebrated victory in his debut match at the ATP Cup.
He won 81% of the rallies in his first serve and made seven aces - Rublev played as reliably as in the second half of last season.
“I worked hard, there were a lot of annoying factors outside the court, it needed to be worked on.
Everything came together, when everything was fine, I began to show myself on the court, ”the Russian said after the match on the Match TV channel.
. @ AndreyRublev97 gets his and 🇷🇺 # TeamRussia's 2021 #ATPCup campaign off to the perfect start! # RUSARGpic.twitter.com / nqTb36ffnb
- ATPCup (@ATPCup) February 2, 2021
Medvedev's difficult start
Daniil Medvedev had to face a much more difficult opponent - the ninth racket of the world, Diego Schwartzman.
He did not have to sit around in his hotel, and five past defeats to the Russian and the clash at last year's ATP Cup should have motivated the Argentinean additionally.
This match really took place in a more stubborn struggle.
Medvedev won the first three games, but Shvartsman managed to win back.
The Russian soon made another break, but the Argentine tennis player, in response, took someone else's serve to zero - Medvedev gave one point due to a double mistake, after which he smashed the racket out of frustration.
In the next game, the fourth racket of the world had two set points, but Schwartzman managed to escape again and keep the intrigue.
Only in the last game did he make three mistakes in a row, and Medvedev ended the set that lasted for an hour in his favor.
The second game at first strongly resembled the first - the Russian tennis player immediately took the lead with a break, and Shvartsman immediately returned the favor and equalized the score.
But then Medvedev began to actively use the advantage of his submission.
Suffice it to say that in the next two games he made five aces.
With a score of 4: 3, the winner of the ATP Final Tournament took Shvartsman's serve, after which he earned a triple matchball and converted it on the second try.
The final score is 7: 5, 6: 3 in favor of Medvedev.
“I am very pleased with the team's victory, because this is not an individual competition.
I have something to add, but this is the first match after two months without competition, and they always differ from training.
I am happy with the victory and ready to move on.
I think the key role in my matches with Diego is played by the fact that I serve a little better and due to this I earn chances.
For example, today I was not very happy with my serve and could have done better.
He made three breaks, if I'm not mistaken, but I always had chances to serve him, so he had a little hard time, especially on hard, ”said the tennis player.
🇷🇺 #TeamRussia win ✅ @DaniilMedwed def.
Diego Schwartzman to wrap up the tie 2-0. # RUSARG |
# ATPCuppic.twitter.com / TnGXZAcX2d
- ATPCup (@ATPCup) February 2, 2021
At the end of the singles matches, a doubles game took place, which could not affect the final result of the confrontation between the national teams.
Rublev returned to the court with Karatsev, and they were opposed by Horacio Ceballos and Maximo Gonzalez.
The Russians were defeated in two sets, losing the second game in a tie-break - 4: 6, 6: 7.
At the same time, in terms of the total amount of points scored, Rublev and Karatsev surpassed their rivals.
On February 3, the Russian national team will meet with Japan, which will be represented in singles matches by the holder of the title of the 41st racket of the world Kei Nishikori and Yoshihito Nishioka, who is 57th in the ATP ranking.
A victory over them will allow the Russians to reach the semifinals of the tournament for the second time in a row.