The first edition of the ATP Cup begins on January 3 with a host of star names committed to play. Here, we run through the biggest players taking part.
A fresh season of tennis action starts with a new competition as the ATP Cup takes place in Australia.
The first team tournament on the ATP Tour since the World Team Cup came to an end in 2012 will run from January 3 until January 12.
There will be 24 countries involved, with official ranking points up for grabs at an event that will encompass singles and doubles play.
Six groups of three teams will be whittled down until there are eight left for the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals and a final to determine the first ATP Cup winning nation.
The finals will be played in Sydney, with group matches also taking place there along with in Perth and Brisbane.
While it has been played in close proximity to the Davis Cup, which was won by Spain, the new competition has attracted a host of big names.
Here, we take a look at the biggest stars involved in the 2020 ATP Cup, starting with Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal
World number one Rafael Nadal will be taking part in the competition, leading Spain in Group B, which will be held in Perth.
Nadal is joined by a strong team that will be fancied to go deep into the tournament, with Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta alongside him as the singles selections.
Japan, Georgia and Uruguay will be opposition Spain are optimistic about getting the better of.
The country won the Davis Cup Finals at the end of last year, with Nadal in inspired form and winning all eight of his rubbers across singles and doubles.
Nadal is on his best form in a decade having won two Grand Slam events last year, finishing as runner-up and a semi-finalist in those he did not come out on top in.
As well as bidding to land more silverware for Spain, this event will form a key part of his preparation for the Australian Open, where he will be the top competition to defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic played as Serbia reached the quarterfinals in the Davis Cup and he will once again lead his country at the 2020 ATP Cup.
Dusan Lajovic and Nikola Milojevic join Djokovic as their country face France, South Africa and Chile in Brisbane.
France will be seen as their biggest rivals in Group A and the world number two is key to Serbia’s hopes, though Lajovic, who is 34th in the ATP rankings and did not play the Davis Cup, should be able to provide some decent support as well.
Djokovic did not have a vintage end to 2019 as he lost out at the ATP Finals but still enjoyed a magnificent year that saw him win two Grand Slams and close the gap on record holder Roger Federer to just four.
After taking part in this event, he will take the unusual step of playing the week before a major with his participation at the Adelaide International.
It means Djokovic, a recent semi-finalist at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, should have plenty of match practise under his belt before the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 20.
That is the 32-year-old’s best major with a record seven titles already to his name and he will go in as favorite to retain his title, amid a significant threat from Nadal.
Djokovic will hope to have a title or two in his 2020 collection before the Australian Open, with his participation in the ATP Cup making it a winnable one for Serbia and giving us the prospect of some high-profile matchups.
“I love it,” Novak Djokovic said of the new format. “I’ve had an amazing 10 years in Australia going back to the first Grand Slam I won in Melbourne in 2008.
“And ever since then it’s been a love affair. I think it’s great for our sport that we have an innovation introduced in a country that loves tennis.”
Daniil Medvedev
After a magnificent second half to 2019, world number five and US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev heads up a Russia team that looks to be one of the strongest at the event.
Medvedev is one of the players looking to break the dominance of the Big Three over the course of 2020 and this competition should provide perfect preparation for the Australian Open, where he will look to replicate his memorable tournament at Flushing Meadows.
He is joined by another top-20 player in Karen Khachanov with the U.S., Italy and Norway being Russia’s opponents in a Group D campaign that will be played in Perth.
Gael Monfils
France will provide a threat to Spain, not least because of the improved form showed by Gael Monfils in 2019, which sets him up nicely for the new season.
World number 10 Monfils has impressed on hard courts and has a strong team with him due to the involvement of Benoit Paire and Gilles Simon.
Denis Shapovalov
Denis Shapovalov looks poised for a breakout year in 2020, a view which his held by Rafael Nadal.
After helping Canada to the Davis Cup final where it took Nadal to end their hopes, his collaboration with one of the game’s other top young players, Felix Auger-Aliassime, gives the country every chance here, though Group F is formidable with Germany, Greece and Australia also involved.
Dominic Thiem
Another productive year for Dominic Thiem saw him reach another French Open final, while he was also runner-up in the ATP Finals to conclude the season.
Thiem ended the year ranked number four and leads Austria in Group E for ties against Argentina, Croatia and Poland in Sydney.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
The man who beat Thiem in that ATP Finals showpiece, Stefanos Tsitsipas, is the number one player for Greece at the tournament.
Impressive performances and some big talk at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship added weight to the view that Tsitsipas can challenge Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in the 2020 Grand Slams following his London success.
A potential clash with the next man on this list could be one of the highlights of the group stage.
Alexander Zverev
He may not have played in the Davis Cup, but Alexander Zverev will lead Germany in this tournament.
Zverev hopes 2020 will be the year that finally sees him make the next step in majors and if he can guide Germany through their competitive group, it would put him in a good place before the first Slam of the year in Melbourne.
Some of the other prominent number 1 players for their nations are Alex de Minaur for hosts Australia, while David Goffin is leading Belgium, Borna Coric is the highest-ranked Croatia player and Fabio Fognini heads up Italy in the absence of Matteo Berrettini.
John Isner will lead the U.S, team and the event looks set to be the premier attraction in the opening weeks of the new tennis season before the Australian Open takes centre stage later this month.