Match schedules for the 2021 ATP Cup season which will see 12 teams competing at Melbourne Park from February 2 – 6 have been released on Monday (25/1) local time.
The date of the men’s team tennis event has been pushed back 24 hours from its original schedule to give quarantined players the best possible preparation and opportunity to train.
The top 4 players, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev will kick off the 2021 season on the first day of the event which was first held in the 2020 season.
READ ALSO : Dominic Thiem has Team Must Let This Happen ahead of the Australian Open
In the afternoon session, defending champion Serbia strengthened by world number 1, Djokovic will start the group phase against Canada at the Rod Laver Arena and Austria will face Italy at the John Cain Arena.
Last season, Serbia slaughtered Canada 3-0 in the group phase. The encounter between the two nations saw one of the most memorable matches as Djokovic beat Denis Shapovalov in the decisive set tiebreaker. They will have a rematch as the first singles number one from their respective countries.
In the evening session, runners up, Spain will challenge the home team at the Rod Laver Arena. Nadal and host, Alex De Minaur will meet again in the singles first match after the two met in last season’s semifinals when Spain won 3-0.
Meanwhile, Russia, which advanced to the semifinals last season, will start its efforts to win the tournament title this season by competing against Argentina. The two countries met in the group stage last season which Russia won 3-0.
The singles match that is quite anticipate is when the French Open champion in the 2020 season. Nadal against the champion of the 2019 ATP Finals season, Stefanos Tsitsipas when Spain faces Greece in the evening session on Tuesday (4/2).
Germany, Greece, France and Japan will have their first match of the ATP Cup on the second day. Each match consists of three matches, namely two singles matches and one doubles match.
To ensure the safety of all visitors at the site, the Melbourne Park area will be divide into several zones. Spectators who want to watch the ATP Cup Group A and Group B matches must buy tickets at the Rod Laver Arena Zone, while John Cain Arena Zone tickets are required to watch Group C and Group D matches.
