At the cost of intense negotiations with the State of Victoria, Craig Tiley, the boss of the Australian Open, managed to organize the Australian Open – nicknamed the Happy Slam – only three weeks behind the usual dates. But the health constraints are enormous and we feel that the less player population (including coaches) there will be in Melbourne Park, the better it will be felt. Australia will not accept more than 1,000 people (players and accompanying persons) to enter the territory as part of the tournament. Tennis Australia even encouraging players to give up coming with their coach in exchange for significant compensation.
These measures question the composition of the teams that will take part in the ATP Cup, organized from February 1 to 5. If the first edition brought together 24 teams, the 2021 gauge has been halved. And it is hard to see the Australians accepting the presence of players only for this event. This would amount to pointing the finger at countries which only have one member of the Top 100. In this case, Greece from Stefanos Tsistipas, 6th in the world, could be ruled out. Number 2, Michail Pervolarakis, ranking 456th in the world.
П ‡ ¬ðŸ ‡ · #TeamGreece roll call ðŸ“??
Surname: TsitsipasIt seems to be a real family affair for #TeamGreece at the #ATPCup ĐŸ’¨ðŸ’¦ðŸ’¦ #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/Xa3FLcgSB4
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 7, 2020
Other countries in great danger: Belgium, Bulgaria and Chile. David Goffin (No. 15 worldwide), Grigor Dimitrov and Cristian Garin being isolated. Big question mark around Switzerland. Yes Roger Federer zaps Australia, Stan Wawrinka would also be well alone … Unless the ATP is waiting for the result of the qualifications – and therefore the result of Henrik Laaksonen – to publish the calendar … You have to keep in mind that if Australia is not naturally chosen, it will benefit from a wild-card …
Here are the predictions of Tennis Actu
1. Serbia
2. Spain
3. Austria
4. Russia
5. Germany
6. Argentine
7. Italy
8. France
9. Canada
10. Croatia
11. United States
12. Australia (wc)
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