THE top seed at the 2021 ATP Cup comes as no surprise, with Serbia expected to lead the charge for the second straight year and three of the 2020 champion team back again in 2021. As the team to beat, Serbia will look to build on impressive form across the board last year and look to go back-to-back.

TEAM:

Novak Djokovic
Dusan Lajovic
Filip Krajinovic
Nikola Cacic

World number one Novak Djokovic headlines the Serbian team, and for obvious reasons will be a tough beat for any other first singles competitor. A difficult player to come across on any surface, let alone his preferred hard court, Djokovic will no doubt fly out of the blocks and be a huge benefit to his nation. The second singles player in Dusan Lajovic may not rank quite as high as Djokovic in at 26 in the ATP Tour but is no easy beat, able to well and truly command a game and, especially when he is on song, is more than capable of holding his open against many of the other second singles competitors.

With four titles to his name in 2020 to go with the inaugural ATP Cup trophy, Djokovic is in as excellent form as he has ever been and is all but guaranteed to win his side past the group stage at the very least. With consistency and winning form, the world number one will look to continue where he left off in 2020. As for Lajovic, the 30-year-old had a solid 2020 season, and while it was not necessarily remarkable, he proved he is a tough battle and difficult to dispose of on the court. 

Looking to the doubles pairing, and the combination of Filip Krajinovic – a solid singles player in his own right, ranked just six behind Lajovic – and Nikola Cacic – who participated in the doubles last year alongside Viktor Troicki – is an intriguing one given the duo’s lack of experience together. While the likes of Djokovic and Lajovic are more than capable of holding down the fort, the untried doubles duo in Krajinovic and Cacic could prove difficult against more experienced partnerships. That being said, the team proved in 2020 that it is more than willing to shuffle the pieces around, with Djokovic sliding into the doubles team for the final match against Spain last year – although that match was played alongside Troicki, who will not participate in 2021.

All in all, there is no doubt that Serbia is one of – if not – the team to beat. With a tough team and the 2020 title behind them, the nation will be bursting with confidence and have plenty of determination to go back-to-back. Sitting in Group A alongside Germany and Canada, the nation may have some tough battles early on, but if they can escape unscathed they will be more than capable of going all the way once more.

Picture credit: AP Photo/Steve Christo