John Millman joins Australian team for ATP Cup
Australia has completed its team for the inaugural ATP Cup as world No. 48 John Millman has been added to the Australian team three weeks after voicing some concerns over the new event.
Millman joins an Australian team consisting of six-time ATP champion Nick Kyrgios, world No. 18 Alex de Minaur, doubles specialists John Peers and Chris Guccione.
Australia has been placed in Group F and drawn to battle against Germany, Greece and Canada in Brisbane from January 3-8 as the home nation will be extremely motivated to make a splash at the event's inaugural edition.
Giving his thoughts on the ATP Cup a couple of weeks ago, Millman said: "A few thoughts on the ATP Cup. Great concept, team event in a new idea that I feel will engage more tennis fans. Team competitions are always so much fun and being innovative and proactive can only grow the sport. Still, there are some aspects I don't overly agree with and the biggest one being the points breakdown.
"For those who aren't fully aware, a player's ranking is comprised of their 18 best tournaments. You might play much more than that but it will be your top 18 that count. The problem is, those players who are in the top-8 and qualify for the ATP Finals at the end of the season get that tournament as an extra countable one, with 19 events on their ranking tally instead of 18.
"When the ATP Cup was introduced, it was announced it would count as an extra tournament as well, which means the players at the ATP Finals will have 20 countable tournaments, leaving those who don't qualify for either ATP Cup or the ATP Finals on 18.
"As opposed to the ATP Finals, the ATP Cup isn't an even playing field and it is harder to qualify and represent your nation, with top two singles players from each qualified country getting a chance to fromplay and have that extra countable tournament.
"It is not easy for some lower-ranked players from strong nations like Australia, Argentina, France, Spain and the USA to earn their place on the court, the same for those who ranked outside the top100. All that means the playing field is not leveled."
The ATP Cup will be played across three Australian cities (Brisbane, Sydney, Perth) from January 3-12.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/353sH59
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