In the second part of assessing tennis’ restart from a five month hiatus, UBI Tennis looks at the potential lockdown winners and losers on the ATP Tour.
After a six month hiatus due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the ATP Tour is due to return on the 22nd of August with the New York bubble events with the Cincinnati tournament taking place first before the second grand slam of the season is held at the US Open. Despite many concerns as to whether it is safe enough for the tournaments to take place in America, the event will go ahead with a number of health and safety protocols being put in place. So with that in mind it’s time to take a look at some of the players that may have benefited from the Lockdown and the players that may have their momentum halted. Firstly let’s take a look at the potential lockdown winners.
Lockdown Winners
Roger Federer
Although the Swiss maestro doesn’t plan on playing in 2020, Federer is a big lockdown winner after what was a struggle to the Australian Open semi-finals in January. The 39 year-old didn’t look 100% fit having endured a couple of epic matches against John Millman and Tennys Sandgren. However the lockdown now means Federer has taken the time to take knee surgery, much like he did in 2017 and we all know what happened then in his next grand slam outing. A fully-fit Federer could mean one more run to a grand slam title and will put him in a position to try and win one more Olympic medal in Tokyo next year. Therefore Federer has benefited from this hiatus and is a lockdown winner.
Matteo Berrettini
Despite ending the season well last year, where he qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals, the 2020 season didn’t start particularly well for the Italian. Injury issues halted Berrettini’s progress and his only official tournament saw him crash out in the second round of the Australian Open to Tennys Sandgren. However the hiatus has allowed him to fully recover and even win an exhibition event in Monaco as the inaugural winner of Patrick Mouratoglou’s unique event, UTS Showdown. Therefore Berrettini is a lockdown winner.
Alex De Minaur
Another player who had injury struggles at the start of the 2020 season was Alex De Minaur after suffering an abdominal injury at the ATP Cup, which lead him to miss the Australian Open. The talented Australian came back for one match before lockdown, where he lost to Miomir Kecmanovic in Acapulco. The lockdown has led De Minaur to recover back to full fitness and the 21 year-old has proven on his day can test anyone in the world, therefore ‘Demon’ is a lockdown winner. Now let’s have a look those players that might not have benefited from the lockdown.
Lockdown Losers
Novak Djokovic
Before the lockdown, Djokovic was in superior form and proving why he was the best player in the world going 18-0 in the first few months of 2020, winning the ATP Cup with Serbia, the Australian Open and Dubai. There was even talk from Djokovic whether he could go the season unbeaten. However since the pandemic, Djokovic has made the headlines for the wrong reasons, in particular his Adria tour which showed how Tennis should not comeback during a global pandemic. As a result Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 and learned a lesson that this virus has not gone away. Now the world number one returns with a different reputation and the task of recovering his momentum from January. Therefore the Serb is a potential lockdown loser.
Alexander Zverev
Another player that was part of the controversial Adria Tour was Alexander Zverev, who also has not done his public image the world of good having known for not following the necessary precautions during the pandemic. Like Djokovic, the lockdown couldn’t have come at a worse time for the German, having reached his first grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open, where he would eventually lose to Dominic Thiem. Finding his form again could be a tricky task for Zverev although the hiring of David Ferrer will bring some much needed discipline and experience to the German’s game.
Rafael Nadal
One of the last champions before the lockdown was none other than Rafael Nadal after the Spaniard claimed the Acapulco title beating Grigor Dimitrov and in-form Taylor Fritz on the way. However the lockdown has interrupted his momentum and made him more anxious after revealing the state of his mental health during lockdown about not seeing his family and friends. It will be interesting to see if Nadal can adapt and dominate on his return in Rome after the US Open.
