We now know the groups for the 2021 ATP Cup in Melbourne, which starts on Tuesday. Serbia, Germany, and Canada are in Group A. Spain, Greece, and Australia are in Group B. Austria, Italy, and France are in Group C. Russia, Argentina, and Japan are in Group D.
What is the most stunning from the 2021 ATP Cup is the absences of tennis superpowers, the United States, and Great Britain. Countries that have players ranked in the top 10 in the world got an automatic berth (Serbia, Spain, Austria, Russia, Greece, Germany, Argentina, and Italy), and there are no American or British players ranked in the top 20.
Switzerland would have qualified if Roger Federer had decided to participate, but he is still out with a knee injury. Due to the fact two Russians are ranked in the top 10 (Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev), France was able to qualify with Gael Monfils ranked 11th in the world, and Canada was able to qualify with Denis Shapovalov ranked 12th in the world.
However, one must question why Japan is in the tournament and not Belgium, who should have received an entry with David Goffin ranked 14th in the world. That is because organizers included Japan because Kei Nishikori has a projected ranking of 10th even though he has a current ranking of 41st in the world.
Countries from the same group will play each other, with the winner of each group going to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will play in the finals.
This will be the second-ever ATP Cup. Serbia won in 2020 after beating Spain 2-1 in the final. The tournament came down to a doubles match as the rubber with Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki defeating Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.
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