ATP Cup 2021 field revealed: Djokovic, Nadal locked in; Kyrgios out

Australia’s ATP Cup team will be without one of the biggest names in world tennis. But Nick Kyrgios’s absence is far from a snub.

Novak Djokovic led Seribia to victory last year. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal headline a blockbuster field committed to play in the ATP Cup ahead of next month’s Australian Open.

Only Roger Federer (knee) is missing from the top 15 players in the rankings for the round-robin team event, which will be held at Melbourne Park between February 1 and 5.

Djokovic’s Serbia and Nadal’s Spain were finalists in the inaugural ATP Cup last year, while Russia is the sole nation with multiple top-10 competitors via Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.

Djokovic’s 6-2, 7-6(4) defeat of Nadal helped Serbia score a 2-1 triumph.

Among the other headline acts are 2020 Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem, popular Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas and Germany’s Alex Zverev.

Rafael Nadal will add more star power to the ATP Cup. Picture: AAP/Craig Golding

The Canadians will also pack a punch, with Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic spearheading their chances.

Qualification for the 12-team format is based on the ATP ranking of each country’s top-ranked singles player, but Australia is in thanks to a host wildcard.

Each tie consists of two singles and one doubles rubber.

BELOW: FULL SQUADS FOR THE ATP CUP

Alex de Minaur, John Millman and doubles combination John Peers and Luke Saville – one half of last year’s Australian Open runner-up team with Max Purcell – will represent Australia.

Nick Kyrgios isn’t in the squad, as Australia’s third-ranked singles player.

Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios celebrate last year. The later won’t be part of the tournament in 2021. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty

Kyrgios and third-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov will instead be major attractions at one of the ATP 250 tournaments at Melbourne Park in the same week.

ATP Cup tournament director Tom Larner said last year’s event was “a huge success” and expected the same the second time around.

“The players are looking forward to stepping up and representing their countries again, and the field, including defending champions Serbia and finalists Spain, is strong,” Larner said.

“This is a format that shows off the passion of the players and we’re expecting some spectacular tennis action.”

ATP CUP SQUADS

Serbia (Novak Djokovic, Dusan Lajovic, Filip Krajinovic, Nikola Cacic), Spain (Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Marcel Granollers, Pablo Carreno Busta), Austria (Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak, Philipp Oswald, Tristan-Samuel Weissborn), Russia (Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aslan Karatsev, Evgeny Donskoy), Greece (Stefanos Tsitsipas, Michail Pervolarakis, Markos Kalovelonis, Petros Tsitsipas), Germany (Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff, Kevin Krawietz, Andreas Mies), Argentina (Diego Schwartzman, Guido Pella, Horacio Zeballos, Maximo Gonzalez), Italy (Matteo Berrettini, Fabio Fognini, Simone Bolelli, Andrea Vavassori), Japan (Kei Nishikori, Yoshihito Nishioka, Ben McLachlan, Toshihide Matsui), France (Gael Monfils, Benoit Paire, Nicolas Mahut, Edouard Roger-Vasselin), Canada (Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic, Peter Polansky, Steven Diez), Australia (Alex de Minaur, John Millman, John Peers, Luke Saville)