Novak Djokovic announced that he will no longer be part of the participating players in the Adelaide International tournament as he prepares for his match against Rafael Nadal in the 2020 ATP Cup. Djokovic has not publicized the reason for the pullout. It is possible, however, that he wants to focus on preparing for the Australian Open instead.
Tournament officials are hoping that the world no. 2 will decide to participate next year. Adelaide International tournament director Alistair MacDonald said that while the officials are disappointed about it, they still respect his decision.
Djokovic, who holds the record number of Australian Open wins, was the supposed male star in the inaugural South Australian competition. He was the only top ten player from the ATP to confirm attendance.
The Adelaide International was way more successful in pulling in talent from the WTA. World no. 1 Ashleigh Barty, no. 3 Simona Halep, no. 7 Petra Kvitova, and no. 18 Angelique Kerber attending.
The Adelaide International is a new hard-court tournament in the ATP and WTA Tours. It replaced the Sydney International, which was scrapped as the Australian city is hosting the 2020 ATP Cup. The introduction of the new team tournament has rearranged a lot of the pre-Australian Open events.
2020 ATP Cup to witness Nadal-Djokovic clash
The crowds in the 2020 ATP Cup will soon be seeing a thrilling moment as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are set to go against each other. The Nadal-Djokovic game will serve as the second singles match of the ATP Cup Final. Their match will be instrumental in determining whether Serbia or Spain will take home the first ATP Cup championship.
It will be the first time that Nadal and Djokovic will face each other in almost seven months. It would be their record 55th match against one another.
They last met in the tennis court in the final of the Italian Open in May last year. Rafa won that match 6-0 4-6 6-1.
Speaking about the game, Djokovic called Nadal his “greatest rival.” Nadal, on the other hand, acknowledged that Djokovic played well in the past week. He said that he will have to match Djokovic’s skill during the game.
Alex de Minaur match shows Rafael Nadal might not beat Novak Djokovic
Young Australian player Alex de Minaur’s match against Rafael Nadal has exposed the reality that the Spaniard will struggle against Novak Djokovic in the 2020 ATP Cup final.
Nadal, who almost lost to de Minaur, has not defeated Djokovic in a hard-court in more than six years. This fact could be crucial in predicting how Nadal will perform against his rival.
Djokovic in the ATP Cup, ranking, and results in 2020
At the moment ranked no.2, Novak has a 5-0 win-loss record in 2020. Novak ended his run in the round robin after defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-1 5-7 6-4.
Novak Djokovic will take on Nadal in the final. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they played, Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) in May 2019.
Djokovic won 77 titles in his career: 44 on hard courts, 14 on clay courts, 13 on indoor courts and 6 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Novak Djokovic |
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