ATP Cup Preview: Will Thiem’s Team Emerge Victorious In Group C?

Third-seeded Austria is the headline act in Group C at the 2021 ATP Cup, which begins on 2 February in Melbourne. The second edition of the event features 12 countries competing across four groups, with the top teams from each group advancing to the knockout semi-finals.

Here is everything you need to know about Group C: who is playing, when they’ll hit the court and how to follow all the action.

Group C: Austria, Italy, France
Austria will attempt to reach the knockout stage at the ATP Cup for the first time, after finishing the inaugural edition of the event in 2020 with a 1-2 record. The third-seeded nation is led by US Open champion and World No. 3 Dominic Thiem, who will be aiming to carry his momentum from 2020 into the team competition. Thiem and fellow singles star Dennis Novak both ended last year’s event with one win from three matches. Doubles players Philipp Oswald and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn will make their tournament debuts this year.

Italy is one of four nations that boasts multiple Top 20 singles players in its line-up. World No. 10 Matteo Berrettini and World No. 17 Fabio Fognini will lead their nation in Group C. Berrettini, who is making his tournament debut this year, has won his most recent ATP Head2Head encounters against No. 1 singles rivals Thiem and Gael Monfils. Fognini finished the inaugural ATP Cup with a 3-2 record, but will hope to improve on his 1-2 singles mark when he faces Novak and Benoit Paire. Simone Bolelli, who partnered Fognini to two doubles wins at last year’s event, and Andrea Vavassori also feature for Italy.

After finishing their group in third position last year, Team France will have a point to prove at this year’s competition. Monfils leads his nation for the second straight year and will need to earn his first ATP Head2Head wins against Thiem (0-6) and Berrettini (0-1) if he is to improve his 1-1 tournament mark. No. 2 singles star Paire came within one point of a perfect 3-0 record at last year’s tournament, before falling in a final-set tie-break to Kevin Anderson. The 31-year-old owns a combined 4-2 record against No. 2 singles rivals Fognini and Novak. France’s roster also features one of the most experienced doubles teams in the competition, but Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin lost all three matches they played at the tournament last year. In a highly competitive group, the seven-time ATP Tour team titlists could decide France's fate this year.

Meet The Group C Players

Austria	Italy	France
Dominic Thiem	Matteo Berrettini	Gael Monfils
Dennis Novak	Fabio Fognini	Benoit Paire
Philipp Oswald	Simone Bolelli	Nicolas Mahut
Tristan-Samuel Weissborn	Andrea Vavassori	Edouard Roger-Vasselin

Three Group C Matches To Watch

Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Matteo Berrettini (ITA)
In the opening tie in Group C, Thiem and Berrettini will both aim to take a 3-2 lead in their ATP Head2Head rivalry. After Thiem won their first encounter at Roland Garros in 2018, the pair contested a trilogy of hard-court clashes at the end of the 2019 ATP Tour season. Berrettini claimed wins at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals and also pushed the Austrian deep into a third set at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. With only the group winners advancing to the semi-finals, an opening victory for Thiem or Berrettini could prove crucial to their nation’s title ambitions.

Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Benoit Paire (FRA)
In one of the most intriguing matches of the ATP Cup group stage, Fognini and Paire will open the Day 2 clash between Italy and France. Both players have the talent and variety to produce great tennis and they proved that in their last ATP Head2Head meeting in Melbourne four years ago. Paire and Fognini battled for almost three-and-a-half hours in the 2017 Australian Open second round, before the Frenchman clinched a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win to record his third victory in four matches against Fognini. Paire and Fognini will both be eager to deliver a win and give their nation the opportunity to clinch the tie in the No. 1 singles match between Berrettini and Monfils.

Matteo Berrettini (ITA) vs Gael Monfils (FRA)
Just 24 hours after his match against Thiem, Berrettini will return to John Cain Arena to face Monfils. The pair contested one of the most memorable matches of the 2019 US Open, when Berrettini dug deep to reach his maiden Grand Slam semi-final with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory in just under four hours. The Italian struck 53 winners against Monfils — one of the fastest players on the ATP Tour — in that match and he will need to play with consistent aggression once again to earn another victory against the Frenchman. Monfils will aim to start the season strong for the second straight year when he faces the Italian in his first match of 2021. The 10-time ATP Tour titlist won 16 of his opening 19 matches in 2020, which included title runs in Montpellier and Rotterdam.

Where To Watch ATP Cup
TV Schedule

Group C Schedule 
View full group stage schedule

Tuesday, 2 February: Austria vs Italy
John Cain Arena - starts 10:00am
Dennis Novak vs Fabio Fognini
Followed by singles match
Dominic Thiem vs Matteo Berrettini
Followed by doubles match - Players TBC

Wednesday, 3 February: Italy vs France
John Cain Arena - starts 10:00am
Fabio Fognini vs Benoit Paire
Followed by singles match
Matteo Berrettini vs Gael Monfils
Followed by doubles match - Players TBC

Thursday, 4 February: Austria vs France
John Cain Arena - starts 10:00am
Dennis Novak vs Benoit Paire
Followed by singles match
Dominic Thiem vs Gael Monfils
Followed by doubles match - Players TBC

*Match schedule is subject to change in line with ATP rules and regulations

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/3jeV9tf