Nick Kyrgios To Miss ATP Cup 2021, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal To Lead the Draw

Having last played almost a year ago at the Mexican Open, Nick Kyrgios was expected to kick off his 2021 season at the ATP Cup. However, as per the official line up, Kyrgios’ name was missing from the Australian ATP Cup team.

Nick Kyrgios skips 2021 ATP Cup

Instead, Kyrgios will compete at one of the ATP 250 events which will take place alongside the ATP Cup. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all warm-up tournaments will feature a week before the Australian Open which begins on February 8.

The World No.23 Alex De Minaur will lead Australia’s ATP Cup team which made the semifinals last year. He will be joined by  John Millman, John Peers, and Luke Saville while Kyrgios’s absence will cause an enormous blow to their morale.

Kyrgios led Australia to the semifinals of the inaugural ATP Cup last year, but lost to Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut at the penultimate stage. Subsequently, the 25-year-old reached the fourth round of the 2020 Australian Open, though he lost to the 20-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal.

On the other hand, Novak Djokovic will spearhead the Serbian ATP Cup team while Nadal will be at the forefront of Spain’s title aspirations. Last year, Djokovic defeated Nadal in a thrilling final of the ATP Cup to help Serbia lift the title.

The reigning US Open champion, Dominic Thiem, will lead the Austrian ATP Cup team and the 2020 ATP Nitto Finals winner, Daniil Medvedev, will be the backbone of the Russian team alongside Andrey Rublev.

The men’s team tennis tournament comprises 12 teams, which will be divided into four groups of three for the group stage. Each team will play two singles matches and a doubles match, and eventually, the four group winners will advance to the semi-finals.