Image Source : PTI Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal
When the 2020 males’s tennis season ended on the ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal captured a typical sentiment that also holds true because the 2021 tennis season is about to start this week.
“The world is suffering a lot, so we are very lucky that we can play tennis,” Nadal mentioned in London in November. “That’s the real feeling that I have.”
After an off-and-on, pandemic-altered 12 months for the game, coronavirus questions and an ever-evolving calendar nonetheless shall be key elements of the dialog as issues get going Wednesday on the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open, the place Sofia Kenin leads the sector, and Thursday on the ATP’s Delray Beach Open, the place Reilly Opelka is the defending champion.
Opelka received that hard-court title final February, however the match was moved to early January as a part of a shuffling on each skilled excursions.
“It’s really going to be for me to find my tennis. I haven’t even played in three months,” mentioned Opelka, a 23-year-old American who relies in Florida and ranked thirty ninth. “So this is really just to get me back into the competitive mindset and playing against other guys and back in tournament mode.”
The adjustments embody the beginning of the 12 months’s first main championship, the Australian Open, delayed three weeks to Feb. 8, and the joint occasion performed at Indian Wells, California — canceled final 12 months due to the COVID-19 outbreak — giving up its standard March dates with no new spot for it on the schedule as of now.
There are some vital milestones within the offing for stars reminiscent of Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams in 2021.
Nadal can break a tie with Roger Federer for essentially the most Grand Slam singles titles for a person after matching him with No. 20 on the French Open in October; by March, Djokovic can surpass Federer’s file for many weeks at No. 1 within the ATP rankings; Williams is one Slam singles trophy away from No. 24, which might equal Margaret Court for essentially the most within the sport’s historical past.
Other tennis storylines in 2021:
FEDERER’S RETURN
More than 12 months can have handed between matches for the 39-year-old Federer by the point he returns from two operations on his proper knee. Federer’s agent instructed The Associated Press he’s aiming for late February after lacking the Australian Open for the primary time since his main-draw debut in 2000.
THE SLAMS
There have been solely three Slams in 2020, as a result of the All England Club canceled Wimbledon for the primary time since World War II. As of now, Wimbledon is scheduled for its standard place on the calendar, starting June 28. The French Open’s begin received shifted from May to September final 12 months and the variety of followers was severely restricted; as of now, it’s slotted for May 23. For the Australian Open, there are lingering questions on flights, resorts and quarantine plans for gamers and their personnel. “I’m not that excited, to be honest. Like, I don’t want to stay in my room for 19 hours,” Opelka mentioned. “You know, I get it; we have to do it. But I’m not one bit excited.”
TOKYO OLYMPICS
The 2020 Olympics, as they’ll nonetheless be referred to as, are scheduled to start out in July, and two tennis gamers representing Japan could possibly be breakout stars: AP Female Athlete of the Year Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori. “The Olympics are a special time when the world comes together to celebrate sports. I am looking forward most to being with the athletes that had waited and trained for over 10 years, for celebrating a very hard year (2020), and having that happen in Japan makes it that much more special,” Osaka wrote in an e-mail interview. “It’s a special and beautiful country filled with culture, history and beauty. I cannot be more excited.”
CROWDED COMPETITION
Should be fascinating to look at the younger girls who not too long ago received Grand Slam titles compete for extra. That consists of No. 1 Ash Barty, who’s 24; No. 3 Osaka, 23; No. 4 Kenin, 21; No. 7 Bianca Andreescu, 20; No. 17 Iga Swiatek, 19.
WHO’S GOT NEXT?
There seem like extra professional candidates for first-time main champions in males’s tennis than there have been in years. With Dominic Thiem becoming a member of the membership final 12 months on the no-spectator U.S. Open, who will be a part of him? Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev all seem succesful.
