By Syed Shayaymd
The Australian Open is upon us with all ATP players trying their best to be ready for the first Grand Slam of the year.
However, the things that are currently more important than the “Happy Slam” are the tournaments leading into it.
Abu Dhabi Exhibition was the first notable event that started the build-up to the Australian Open. It was scheduled between 16th and 18th December 2021. With players like Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, and Denis Shapovalov on the roster, it gave plenty of reasons for the UAE crowd to cheer about. Andrey Rublev won the title over Murray in the final and Shapovalov beat Nadal in the third place match. The event was marred, however, by most players testing positive for COVID following the event.
Secondly, the ATP Cup runs from 1st till 9th January 2022, and carries a lot of importance for ATP players. This tournament gives them a chance to represent their countries in this team event.
U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev will be leading the way for Russia in pursuit of their title defense. Apart from the World No. 2, we would see six other top 10 players participating in the event.
While Novak Djokovic is still uncertain about going to Australia, Nadal and Rublev were tested positive this week and would not be taking part in the tournament.
Even though Spain doesn’t have the 2009 Australian Open champion, Roberto Bautista-Agut gained qualification in the tournament as the world No. 19.
Initially, France was unable qualify as Gael Monfils pulled out from the tournament. However, they eventually gained qualification after Austria pulled out from the tournament. Dominic Theim announced that he will skip the Australian Open and return to the ATP Tour after the first Grand Slam of the year.
The build-up to the Australian Open has changed since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. Before the 2020 season, there used to be the Qatar Open and Brisbane Open scheduled in the first week of the year. Moreover, there used to be the Hopman Cup which had a similar format to the current ATP Cup. Now, the Qatar Open is moved into the first week of March whereas the Hopman Cup is replaced by the ATP Cup. In the last event of the Hopman Cup, Switzerland won the title for the third time, led by Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.
