The 2020 Eisenhower Cup is proving to be a great warm-up event for many ATP players in town for the BNP Paribas Open. Rafael Nadal will face off against Taylor Fritz while Stefanos Tsitsipas will be butt heads with Matteo Berrettini.
Rafa memorably fended off Fritz in their quarterfinals match last year. The Spanish tennis icon squeaked out a win against the American, 10-8, in the 2019 event. The 2020 faceoff will serve as a quick rematch for the two players. Tsitsipas and Berrettini will take part in the competition for the first time. It would only be their third time to play against each other.
The 2020 Eisenhower Cup is only the second edition of the fast-paced tennis event. It makes use of the innovative Tie Break Tens format that has been used in similar events in Madrid and New York City.
2020 Eisenhower Open completes the star-studded lineup
All of the 2020 Eisenhower Open participants are in the top 30 of the ATP world rankings. Apart from the aforementioned four players, Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Stan Wawrinka, and Milos Raonic complete the lineup for the one-night event. No. 5 Medvedev will play against no. 17 Wawrinka while no. 3 Thiem is paired up with no. 30 Raonic.
It can be recalled that Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka faced off for the final in last year’s inaugural California event. Raonic eventually won and took home the $150,000 cash prize.
This year’s Tie Break Tens event will be in Stadium 2 of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Tickets will be at $25, with proceeds going to charity organizations like Family YMCA of the Desert and Eisenhower Medical Center.
Rafael Nadal victorious in 2020 Mexican Open
In other news, Rafael Nadal is coming off a great victory in the 2020 Mexican Open. Nadal prevailed against Taylor Fritz, 6-3 6-2, in the 2020 Mexican Open final round. It is his first ATP title of the year.
His Acapulco triumph gave Nadal his 85th singles title. It is his third trophy in the tournament, winning his previous two in 2005 and 2013. This ties him with Thomas Muster and David Ferrer for most titles in the Mexican Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas completes a full year in ATP top 10
Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas achieved another major career milestone after he completed his first full year in the ATP top 10. Aged 21.5 years old, the Greek player reached the milestone at a younger age than tennis legends like Andy Murray (22 years and 52 days) and Roger Federer (22 years and 66 days). Only Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev were younger than Tsitsipas when they achieved the honor.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2020
Ranked no.6, Tsitsipas played his last match on the 29th of February when he was overcome by Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 in the final in Dubai.
Currently, this year the Greek has a 11-5 win-loss record. Tsitsipas conquered 1 title in Marseille. The Greek was the finalist in Dubai.
Matteo Berrettini’s ranking and performance in 2020
Currently ranked no.8 (career-high), Matteo played his last match on the 22nd of January when he was defeated by Tennys Sandgren 7-67 6-4 4-6 2-6 7-5 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini played each other twice. The head to head is 2-0 for Tsitsipas. The last time that they squared off, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-73 6-4 6-3 7-64 in the 1st round in Melbourne (Australian Open) in January 2019.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini |
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