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Daniil Medvedev claimed back-to-back titles on the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals to complete the yr on a 10-match profitable streak. File
There are a lot of intriguing storylines to observe for within the 2021 ATP Tour season. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal paved the way because the Prime 2 gamers within the ATP Rankings and each males might be chasing historical past in 2021. The pair was given an early warning for the approaching season on the 2020 ATP Finals by Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, who each earned victories in opposition to the Prime 2 stars en path to the championship match.
World No. 3 Thiem and London champion Medvedev lead a rising checklist of challengers to the dominance of Djokovic and Nadal. That group consists of former Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2020 Most Improved Participant of the 12 months Andrey Rublev.
NOVAK’S PUSH: After turning into solely the second man to carry the highest spot within the ATP Rankings for 300 weeks on Dec.21, Djokovic could have his sights set on one of the vital prestigious information in tennis within the first quarter of the 2021 ATP Tour season. The Serbian is presently 9 weeks behind Roger Federer’s file of 310 weeks on the prime of the game.
Djokovic, who leads longtime rival and World No. 2 Nadal by 2,180 factors, will cross Federer’s mark if he can preserve his place on the prime of the game till March 8.
In 2020, Djokovic tied his idol Pete Sampras’ file of six year-end World No. 1 finishes. The 33-year-old might be aiming to take sole possession of that file by finishing back-to-back year-end World No. 1 finishes for the third time.
WILL RAFA BOUNCE BACK?: Rafael Nadal equalled Federer’s file haul of 20 Grand Slam trophies at Roland Garros in 2020 and completed the yr with a file twelfth Prime 2 end within the ATP Rankings. The query is, will the Spaniard have the ability to bounce again to the highest spot in 2021?
The 20-time main champion’s hopes of returning to the highest place will relaxation on his skill to proceed including to his spectacular Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 trophy collections.
IS IT THIEM’S TIME: After turning into the primary participant in six years to win his maiden Grand Slam title on the 2020 US Open, Thiem defeated his major rivals Djokovic and Nadal en path to his second consecutive runner-up end on the ATP Finals in London. The Austrian is now inside touching distance of a serious milestone in 2021. Thiem presently sits simply 725 ATP Rating factors behind World No. 2 Nadal. One of many keys for Thiem to surpass that might be his skill to take care of his current success in opposition to his major rivals. For the reason that begin of the 2019 ATP Tour season, Thiem has compiled a 9-3 file in opposition to Federer (3-0), Nadal (3-1) and Djokovic (3-2).
CAN MEDVEDEV MAINTAIN MOMENTUM?: Daniil Medvedev ended 2020 because the in-form participant on the ATP Tour. The Russian claimed back-to-back titles on the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals to complete the yr on a 10-match profitable streak, which included seven Prime 10 victories.
If Medvedev can translate his indoor kind to out of doors success, he might be part of Thiem as a challenger to Djokovic and Nadal’s stranglehold on the Prime 2 positions within the sport. The World No. 4 has began his season sturdy prior to now. He opened his 2020 marketing campaign with seven wins from 9 matches in Australia.
Janko Tipsarevic, who was a part of Serbia’s 2010 David Cup-winning crew says: “Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer raised the ladder a lot that it’s essential to dominate (on all surfaces) in relation to the earlier technology.”
The Serbian predicted a shiny future for Medvedev, however added that Medvedev must study to do higher on clay floor.
“Medvedev is an incredible participant,” Tipsarevic mentioned. “It isn’t a query of whether or not he’ll win the Grand Slam title, since he’ll, it isn’t a query of whether or not he might be primary — he’ll at one level.”
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