2021 ATP Cup Sunday's Schedule of Play - Russia vs Italy for the title

The second edition of the ATP Cup takes place at Melbourne Park between February 2nd - 6th, gathering the world's leading players in their first and only official test ahead of the Australian Open.

Russia and Italy, the last two countries fighting for the title at the 2021 ATP Cup. Serbia and Spain, two of the hottest candidates for the team throne in 2021 and also the 2020 finalist failed to reach the final this year, and so we'll see new champions.

The fact that Russia and Italy reached the final is caused mostly by two factors. Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev seem to be unstoppable and won all of their singles matches. And Matteo Berrettini showed great fighting spirit when he didn't lose a set in singles or doubles in his first ATP Cup appearance.

In the final tie, Andrey Rublev will kick-off against Fabio Fognini. Although, the Italian showed that he can still produce high-quality tennis on hardcourt, the Russian no. 2 is a big favorite to win this match. In the second match, Matteo Berrettini will try to surprise Daniil Medvedev and if even this match won't decide, then we'll see doubles.

🇷🇺 Russia vs. 🇮🇹 Italy

We'll get to know the two finalists of the 2021 ATP Cup on Friday as Italy will take on Spain and Germany will play against big favorites Russia. After Novak Djokovic lost with Serbia, it still remains a question if we'll see Rafael Nadal play, but at the moment, it seems unlikely.

The day will kick-off with matches of players number 2 from all 4 countries. Fabio Fognini will take on Pablo Carreno-Busta and Jan-Lennard Struff will try to shock Andrey Rublev to give Germany chance over Russia.

In the matches of the best players, Matteo Berrettini will most probably play against Roberto Bautista Agut with Rafael Nadal absent from the semifinal clash, and Alexander Zverev will meet Daniil Medvedev. We'll also see doubles matches which might decide these semifinal ties, but it's always a big question who will we see there.

🇮🇹 Italy vs. 🇪🇸 Spain

🇩🇪 Germany vs. 🇷🇺 Russia

On Friday, we'll get to know all of the semifinalists at the 2021 ATP Cup. After Italy and Russia secured their spots with dominant performances in groups C and D, Spain, Serbia, Germany, and Greece are the biggest favorites for the remaining two.

The day will kick-off with a tie between Germany and Serbia. Novak Djokovic will try to help his country again. In order to reach the semifinals, both teams need a victory.

On the other hand, Austria and France will play just for the second place in Group C and Argentina will take on Japan in the match for the second place in Group D.

Spain will take on Greece for the remaining spot in Group B. After Australia defeated Greeks 2-1 and Spain defeated Australia 3-0, it is enough for Spaniards to win only 1 match in the tie to advance to the semifinals. Probably also because of that, Rafael Nadal decided to skip also this tie and focus on playoff matchups.

🇷🇸 Serbia vs. 🇩🇪 Germany

🇦🇹 Austria vs. 🇫🇷 France

On Wednesday, the first three players in the ATP Rankings won't be in action, however, there will be still a lot to watch from the 2021 ATP Cup in Melbourne. First, we'll see ties between Canada and Germany and France and Italy. While we'll see Germany and France for the first time, it will be already the second appearance of Canada and Italy.

However, they are in a very different position. While Canada needs to defeat Germany in order to keep their semifinal hopes alive, Italy can go directly to the semifinals if they win over France since they defeated Austria on Tuesday.

In the later ties, the same situation will occur for Australia and Russia. Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev were dominant against Argentina, and they can push Russia to the semifinals if they win over Japan. On the other hand, Australia needs victory over Greece to stay in-play for the semifinals.

Rod Laver Arena:
🇨🇦 Canada vs. 🇩🇪 Germany

John Cain Arena:
🇫🇷 France vs. 🇮🇹 Italy

The 2021 ATP Cup promises a lot of interesting matches and it will be no different on the first day of the event. On Monday, Serbia will start the day against Canada in Rod Laver Arena while Austria will kick-off the 2021 ATP Cup journey against Italy in John Cain Arena.

That means, that first, we'll see Milos Raonic against Dusan Lajovic and Dennis Novak versus Fabio Fognini. Then, world number 1, Novak Djokovic will take on Denis Shapovalov, and third-ranked player, Dominic Thiem will play against Matteo Berrettini.

In the second ties of the day, Russia will meet Argentina, and 2020 runner-ups, Spain will play against home-crowd favorites, Australia.

Since Rafael Nadal withdrew from the opening tie of the 2021 ATP Cup, the Spanish line-up won't be that powerful. In the first matches, we'll see Pablo Carreno-Busta against John Millman and Andrey Rublev versus Guido Pella. The possible tie deciders will happen between Daniil Medvedev and Diego Schwartzman and Roberto Bautista Agut who will meet Australian youngster, Alex De Minaur.

Rod Laver Arena:
🇨🇦 Canada vs. 🇷🇸 Serbia