Novak Djokovic's Serbia handed tough ATP Cup draw alongside Alexander Zverev's Germany and Denis Shapovalov's Canada; Rafael Nadal's Spain team will play Greece and Australia with the hosts missing Nick Kyrgios after his inactivity on the tour because of COVID-19 concerns
Friday 22 January 2021 10:36, UK
Reigning champions Serbia, led by world No 1 Novak Djokovic, will play Germany and Canada in the group stage of the ATP Cup in Melbourne next week.
Djokovic led Serbia to the inaugural title with a victory over Rafa Nadal's Spain in Sydney last year but his path to a return to the final was not helped by a tough draw in Group A.
Germany will be spearheaded by Alexander Zverev, while Denis Shapovalov is the standout player in a Canada side also featuring Milos Raonic.
The winning team from each of the four first-round groups will go directly into the semi-finals.
Nadal's Spain team will play Greece and Australia in Group B, an easier draw given the Greeks have little depth beneath world No 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The hosts will be without Nick Kyrgios with his ranking having now slipped to 47, leaving Alex de Minaur to lead Australia.
Dominic Thiem's Austria were the top seed in Group C and they will face Italy and France, while Russia will be favourites to top Group D ahead of Argentina and Japan.
Russia are the only team with two top 10 players in their side in Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, while Argentina and Japan are led by world No 9 Diego Schwartzman and world No 41 Kei Nishikori respectively.
The men's team competition made its debut in cities around Australia last year but will be truncated and played only at Melbourne Park from February 1-5 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 12 teams have been divided into four pools for group stage, round-robin play. The four group winners will advance to the semi-finals.
Group A: Serbia, Germany, Canada
Group B: Spain, Greece, Australia
Group C: Austria, Italy, France
Group D: Russia, Argentina, Japan
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