SYDNEY — ATP Cup champion Novak Djokovic and runner-up Rafael Nadal are set to return for the season-opening male’s team tennis event starting Feb. 1, but the United States will be missing due to a change in format that has halved the sector.

The inaugural occasion last yr featured 24 teams and was performed in three Australian cities, with Djokovic’s Serbia workforce beating Nadal and Spain within the remaining at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Area.

The Feb. 1-5 second edition will contain 12 teams and be performed completely at Melbourne Park amid COVID-19 restrictions, together with WTA and ATP tournaments, within the week main into the Australian Open.

The draw will be held on Jan. 20, with teams divided into 4 teams. The winner of every round-robin group will advance to the semifinals.

Qualification for the ATP Cup was based on the rating of every country’s prime participant, with Australia included on a wild-card entry. Different competing countries include Austria, Russia, Greece, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Japan, France, and Canada.

All players arriving in Melbourne for the Australian Open shall be required to quarantine for 14 days before the delayed start of the season’s first major. The Australian Open is normally staged in the final two weeks of January, but it has been pushed again to Feb. 8-21 due to the journey and different restrictions in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qualifying for the men’s singles draw will take place in Doha, Qatar, and for the ladies in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, each running Jan. 10-13.

As with different sports, the international tennis calendar was disrupted in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, together with the postponement of the French Open’s start from May to September, and the cancellation of Wimbledon for the first time since World War II.

Read also-Alex Albon to race in DTM at select rounds in 2021