A HOST of late withdrawals has shaken up the 2022 ATP Cup, to the point of where there is a whole new nation competing in the tournament starting tomorrow. The final squad listings occured on Wednesday, and France has come into the tournament replacing Austria after Dennis Novak joined Dominic Thiem as withdrawals from the tournament. The French side will feature Ugo Humbert and Arthur Rinderknech in singles, and Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Fabrice Martin in doubles.

Russia was the hardest hit of the remaining sides, losing all of its depth in Andrey Rublev (COVID-19 positive), Aslan Karatsev and Evgeny Donskoy. It means Roman Safiullin will play second singles to Daniil Medvedev and mean the world number two will effectively have to play doubles in the three group matches. The United States also lost Austin Krajicek from its doubles combination, whilst world number one Novak Djokovic officially withdrew, leaving Dusan Lajovic as the nation’s top singles player.

GROUP A:

GROUP B:

GROUP C:

GROUP D:

PREDICTIONS:

Coming into the ATP Cup, Russia was raging favourite for its depth, whilst Serbia looked likely to advance in Group A. Russia’s loss of three players from its side means Medvedev would need to single-handedly carry his nation over the line playing two matches every single tie to defend its title. Italy now goes likely though to the semi-finals, setting up a blockbuster clash with Germany who is tipped to advance in Group B. Though Great Britain and Canada are among the top contenders, both have landed in a group of death with Germany. With Djokovic out of the Serbian side, the advantage goes to Spain and should see the nation progress after missing out on the knockout stage of the Davis Cup. In Group D, Argentina has the depth to advance, with only really Tsitsipas putting together an outstanding tournament, likely to stop the South American nation advancing.

Winner: Germany
Runner-Up: Spain
Semi-finalists: Italy and Argentina

Dark horse: Great Britain