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39-letni Feliciano Lopez uważa, że Jannik Sinner i Carlos Alcaraz będą przyszłymi wielkimi gwiazdami rozgrywek. Hiszpański gracz i dyrektor turnieju w Madrycie mówił także o konsekwencjach, jakie w świecie tenisa wywołała pandemia koronawirusa.
Marcin Motyka
Marcin Motyka
13 Grudnia 2020, 09:15

Jannik Sinner
PAP/EPA / OMER MESSINGER / Na zdjęciu: Jannik Sinner



Tenis. Pandemia koronawirusa wywarła wpływ. Rafael Nadal nie będzie dobrze wspominał 2020 roku
Choć Feliciano Lopez jest zawodowcem od 1997 roku, nigdy nie przeżył tak dziwnego sezonu jak miniony, który został zawieszony na pół roku, a wiele turniejów nie doszło do skutku z powodu restrykcji związanych z pandemią koronawirusa.
- Z powodu pandemii mamy bardzo zły rok. Nie tylko dla tenisa, ale dla wszystkich. Wiele turniejów zostało odwołanych - mówił 39-letni Hiszpan w wywiadzie dla dziennika "Corriere della Serra".



Jednym z nierozegranych turniejów w 2020 roku była impreza Mutua Madrid Open w Madrycie, której Lopez jest dyrektorem. - To było dla nas bardzo smutne, ale nie mieliśmy innego wyjścia. Jako dyrektor Mutua Madrid Open odczułem konsekwencje gospodarcze, jakie wywołuje pandemia. Zdaję sobie sprawę, że turnieje potrzebują pomocy sponsorów - powiedział.

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Reklama 0sDzięki reklamie oglądasz wszystko za darmo.
Występując od ponad dwóch dekad, Lopez mierzył się z tenisistami z kilku pokoleń. Zapytany o przyszłe wielkie gwiazdy rozgrywek, wskazał na 19-letniego Jannika Sinnera, aktualnie 37. singlistę globu, i 17-letniego Carlosa Alcaraza - obecnie 141. w światowej klasyfikacji.

- Wiele razy widziałem Sinnera i uważam, że jest tenisistą o ogromnym potencjale. To niesamowite, że w takim wieku prezentuje tak wysoki poziom. Myślę, że będzie jednym z najlepszych graczy przyszłego pokolenia. Z kolei Alcaraz miał spektakularny sezon. On trenuje w akademii Juana Carlosa Ferrero. Sądzę, że w przyszłości przebije się do reprezentacji Hiszpanii w Pucharze Davisa - ocenił.


Lopez chce występować w 2021 roku. Na sugestię, że w igrzyskach w Tokio może stworzyć parę deblową z Rafaelem Nadalem, odparł: - Wciąż nie znamy kalendarza na przyszły sezon i skupiamy się przede wszystkim na grze.

Spanish teen won three ATP Challenger Tour titles
Carlos Alcaraz has been selected by fellow players as the winner of the Newcomer of the Year in the 2020 ATP Awards. The Spaniard received this honour for a breakthrough campaign in which he climbed 350 spots in the FedEx ATP Rankings to finish the season at World No. 141 after reaching a career-high of No. 136 in October.

“I wanted to thank the ATP and everyone who voted for me in the Newcomer of the Year Award. I’m so happy,” Alcaraz said. “Honestly, this wouldn’t be possible without my team. We did some great work this year despite the difficulties.

“I want to also congratulate all of the other nominees for this award. They’ve had a great year too and played at a high level, and I wish them the best of luck in 2021.”


The 17-year-old, who was the youngest player in the year-end Top 200, claimed his first tour-level win in dramatic fashion, outlasting veteran Albert Ramos-Vinolas in three hours and 37 minutes at the Rio Open presented by Claro in February. That set the tone for the teen’s ascent.

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Alcaraz made his Challenger breakthrough when he lifted the trophy in Trieste, but the best was yet to come as he arrived on home soil. The Spaniard lifted back-to-back Challenger trophies in Barcelona and Alicante – the latter sealed with his second Top 100 victory of the year in the final against Pedro Martinez. As a result, Alcaraz added his name to an exclusive club of players who have won at least three Challenger titles before turning 18, joining Richard Gasquet, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Five other #NextGenATP stars – Sebastian Korda, Lorenzo Musetti, Jurij Rodionov, Emil Ruusuvuori and Thiago Seyboth Wild – were also nominated in this category.

ATPTour.com looks at 2021 Milan hopefuls
Every year #NextGenATP players deliver surprises, upsets and breakouts. Jannik Sinner had plenty of eyes on him in 2020 after winning the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals, but he took another step forward last season. The 19-year-old Italian spent much of 2020 notching big 'firsts': he reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final on the red clay of Roland Garros, captured his first ATP Tour title at the Sofia Open, and broke into the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time to end the year at a career-high No. 37.

Who will do the honours of breaking through in 2021? Here are six #NextGenATP players to keep an eye on next season.

1. Lorenzo Musetti, World No. 128
Lorenzo Musetti completed one of the biggest upsets of 2020 with his statement first-round win over Stan Wawrinka at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. But it was the way he went about it that catapulted him into the #NextGenATP spotlight. After fighting past the qualifying rounds, the 18-year-old dropped a love set on the three-time Grand Slam winner 6-0, 7-6(2) to delight his home crowd with his first ATP Tour main draw victory.

The Italian used the win as a springboard and got a taste of victory the very next week as he lifted the ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Forli. Musetti closed out the season with his first ATP Tour semi-final at the Forte Village Sardegna Open. Now, the mission for 2021 will be to keep adding to his trophy cabinet - and keep making his mark on Tour, this time away from the red dirt of Italy.


2. Carlos Alcaraz, World No. 141
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz joined some elite company in 2020 when he became only the fifth player in ATP Challenger Tour history to win three titles before turning 18, following in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, Juan Martin del Potro and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Alcaraz ended the season with 10 wins from his final 11 matches and claimed back-to-back titles - making him one to watch in the new year. Coached by former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 17-year-old will look to keep the momentum going as he tries to make his debut as the youngest member of the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.


3. Thiago Seyboth Wild, World No. 116
The Brazilian came tantalisingly close to a Top 100 breakthrough in 2020 when his FedEx ATP Ranking peaked at a career-high No. 106. The 20-year-old played like a veteran as he quietly put together a breakthrough start to the season, winning his first ATP Tour title at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago. Even more impressive? He only had one ATP Tour main draw victory under his belt going into the event, and he had achieved it the week before at his home tournament at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Seyboth Wild will be looking to strike the right balance and build up consistency in 2021. Despite winning his first ATP Tour title and reaching a Challenger final at Aix en Provence, the Brazilian finished the season with a 10-13 win-loss record on the season (all levels), including 11 first-round exits.


4. Sebastian Korda, World No.118
While many players say that tennis is in their blood, Sebastian Korda knows a thing or two about family legacy. The son of two tennis players, including former World No. 2 Petr Korda, Sebastian made his breakthrough in 2020 and is knocking on the door of the Top 100.

Korda stunned the field in Paris during his electric Roland Garros debut, which saw him surge from the qualifying event to the fourth round of the main draw, taking down No. 98 Andreas Seppi and No. 23 John Isner along the way. The American closed out the season with a long-awaited first ATP Challenger Tour victory in Eckental, his first professional trophy in nine finals (all levels).


5. Hugo Gaston, World No. 162
The last Frenchman standing at 2020 Roland Garros, Hugo Gaston made sure that the Parisian crowd would remember his name. Ranked outside the Top 200, 20-year-old Gaston didn’t have a tour-level win to his name, but he delighted home fans with the best performance of his career to reach the fourth round.

Along the way, he completed one of the upsets of the year over three-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka, outlasting the former World No. 3 in five sets for a statement 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 victory in the third round. Gaston also gave reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem a scare in the next round, pushing him to the brink before falling in five sets, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3.


6. Brandon Nakashima, World No. 166
Nakashima made a splash in his ATP Tour debut at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com. Then 18 years old, the American became the youngest quarter-finalist at the tournament since Kei Nishikori’s 2008 title-winning run and he was the fourth-youngest to make the last eight in event history.

Famously level-headed and with a growing reputation for being a problem-solver on court, Nakashima made it a mission to keep chipping away at his ranking in 2020 after starting the year ranked No. 364. The American saved the best for last as he lifted his first Challenger trophy in Orlando to close out the season at a new career-high FedEx ATP Ranking of No.166.

Seyboth Wild, Gaston also feature in qualifying draw

Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz will lead the #NextGenATP charge in the Australian Open qualifying draw, which will take place in Doha from 10-13 January due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Next Gen ATP Finals contenders will aim to reach the main draw at a Grand Slam for the first time, in just their second Grand Slam qualifying appearances. Musetti came within one victory of a place in the Australian Open main draw last year, but fell short with a straight-sets loss to Tallon Griekspoor.

Since then, the Italian has soared more than 200 positions in the FedEx ATP Rankings. During a breakthrough run on home soil last year, Musetti stunned Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, captured his maiden ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Forli and advanced to his first ATP Tour semi-final in Sardinia.

The 18-year-old, who is the second youngest player in the Top 200, will meet Botic Van de Zandschulp in his opening match. Musetti shares his section of the qualifying draw with 32nd seed Blaz Rola of Slovenia. Rola will face 2014 Roland Garros semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in his first match.


The only player younger than Musetti in the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings is Alcaraz. The 17-year-old Spaniard compiled a 20-3 main draw record in his final six Challenger events in 2020, which included three titles from four final appearances.

Alcaraz will begin his qualification bid against Slovakia’s Filip Horansky. The three-time Challenger titlist could meet second seed Hugo Dellien in the final qualifying round.

In one of the most exciting sections of the draw, third seed Aslan Karatsev will face #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima. Karatsev, a four-time Challenger finalist last year (2-2), and Nakashima are both aiming compete in the Australian Open main draw for the first time.

The winner of Karatsev and Nakashima’s clash will face #NextGenATP Frenchman Hugo Gaston or Max Purcell. On his Roland Garros debut last year, Gaston stunned three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka and pushed US Open champion Dominic Thiem to five sets. Purcell will attempt to qualify for his home major championship for the second straight year. In Melbourne at last year’s event, Purcell advanced to the doubles championship match alongside Luke Saville (l. to Ram/Salisbury).


In his second appearance in the qualifying draw, sixth seed Thiago Seyboth Wild will aim to qualify for the first time. The #NextGenATP Brazilian, who captured his maiden ATP Tour crown in Santiago last year, will meet Robin Haase in his first match.

Seyboth Wild is in the same section as Mischa Zverev. The German upset then-World No. 1 Andy Murray to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at this event in 2017.

Seventh seed Damir Dzumhur will attempt to compete in the Australian Open main draw for the sixth consecutive year. The three-time ATP Tour titlist shares his section of the draw with 31st seed Mohamed Safwat of Egypt.

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Former Top 5 star Tommy Robredo is seeking his first Grand Slam main draw appearance since the 2018 US Open. The 2007 quarter-finalist will open his qualification bid against eighth seed Antoine Hoang of France.

Bernard Tomic will also face seeded opposition in his opening match. The 28-year-old, who made his most recent Grand Slam main draw appearance at Wimbledon in 2019, will face 14th seed Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia.

Denis Istomin will attempt to reach the Australian Open main draw for the 14th time. The 34-year-old will face 29th seed Lorenzo Giustino in his opening qualifying match.

Istomin is one of only three players to have defeated eight-time champion Novak Djokovic in the past decade at Melbourne Park. The 6’2” right-hander outlasted Djokovic in five sets in 2017. Wawrinka and Hyeon Chung are the only other players to achieve the feat.

Musetti beaten in three sets

Carlos Alcaraz moved closer to his Grand Slam main draw debut on Sunday, as he rallied from a set down to reach the second round of the Australian Open qualifying draw.

The #NextGenATP Spaniard won 75 per cent of his first-serve points (42/56) to beat Filip Horansky of Slovakia 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in Doha, which is staging the qualifying event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alcaraz recovered well from the disappointment of failing to convert four set points at 5-4 in the first set to advance in two hours and 23 minutes.

The 17-year-old, who is the youngest player inside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, is aiming to build on an impressive finish to the 2020 season. Across his final six ATP Challenger Tour events in 2020, Alcaraz compiled a 20-3 record and won three trophies from four finals.

The 21st seed will face Evgeny Karlovskiy of Russia for a place in the final qualifying round. Karlovskiy also recovered from a set down to defeat Argentina's Facundo Mena 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours to book a meeting with Alcaraz.


Botic Van de Zandschulp upset #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the second round. The Dutchman, who reached two Challenger finals in 2020 (0-2), broke serve on four occasions to eliminate the 13th seed in just under two hours.

Van de Zandschulp will face Joao Menezes in his next match. The Brazilian saved three match points in a second-set tie-break to defeat Andrea Collarini of Argentina 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-3.

Fifth seed Taro Daniel came from a set down to beat Roberto Cid Subervi of the Dominican Republic 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. The Japanese will face Germany's Maximilian Marterer for a spot in the final qualifying round. The German earned his first win of the event with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Marco Trungelliti of Argentina.

China's Zhang Zhizhen overcame ninth seed Evgeny Donskoy 7-5, 6-3 to confirm a second-round clash against Mikael Torpegaard of Denmark. Torpegaard cruised past Germany’s Mats Moraing 6-1, 6-0 in 46 minutes.

#NextGenATP Czech Tomas Machac earned a 6-3, 6-1 win against Joao Domingues of Portugal to move within two victories of his Australian Open main draw debut. The 20-year-old will next face Brazil's Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves, who beat 30th seed Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-4.

Carlos Taberner will face Dustin Brown in the second qualifying round in Doha. The Spaniard beat Roberto Marcora of Italy 6-2, 7-5, while Brown overcame Japan's Hiroki Moriya 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

Viktor Troicki’s bid to compete in the Australian Open main draw for a 12th time started with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback win against 23rd seed Jurij Rodionov of Austria. The Serbian, who has reached the third round in Melbourne on four occasions, will meet Ulises Blanch in the second round. The American moved past Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia 6-4, 6-1 in 76 minutes.

Sandgren and Smith were college teammates at the University of Tennessee
Tennys Sandgren and John-Patrick Smith were college teammates at the University of Tennessee a decade ago, and on Tuesday they were across the net from one another in the first round of the Great Ocean Road Open.

It was a tough battle at Melbourne Park for the former Tennessee Volunteers, but it was ninth seed Sandgren who prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 after two hours and 15 minutes. This was the first ATP Head2Head meeting for the pair, who had previously split four professional meetings.

Sandgren, a two-time Australian Open quarter-finalist, saved 11 of the 15 break points he faced and won 71 per cent of his second-serve return points to advance. The American will next play Italian Salvatore Caruso.

#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz also advanced Tuesday. The 17-year-old was tied at 2-2 against Attila Balazs when the Hungarian retired due to left heel pain. Alcaraz will next play top seed David Goffin.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carl ... ew'>Carlos Alcaraz</a>
Carlos Alcaraz will next play David Goffin. Photo Credit: Tennis Australia
Jordan Thompson battled past Gianluca Mager 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in just under two hours to reach the second round. The home favourite won 82 per cent of first-serve points (49/60) to confirm a second-round encounter against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The Frenchman trailed 2-5 in the deciding set, but claimed five straight games to defeat Maxime Cressy 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 7-5.

“I played one bad service game," said Thompson. "That's the only time I got broken in the match and I felt like I was in a lot of these service games and [had] a few break points, a lot of 30-all games. just had to keep sticking at it and eventually broke through in the end and fell over the line, just."

Sam Querrey rallied from 1/4 down in a second-set tie-break to overcome Henri Laaksonen 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 in one hour and 51 minutes. The 10th seed landed 15 aces and saved four of five break points to book a second-round clash against Stefano Travaglia. The Italian rallied from a set down on Monday to beat Roberto Carballes Baena 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(2).

Uruguayan shotmaker Pablo Cuevas moved into the second round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against 14th seed Pablo Andujar. This was the pair's first meeting since the 2011 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Cuevas broke serve four times and won 50 per cent of his return points to triumph after one hour and 26 minutes. The World No. 70 is pursuing his seventh ATP Tour singles title.