Asłan Karacew

[Damian]

08.11.2021r.

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 15

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Art]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Żilu]

[Barty]

[Damian]

Most Improved Nominees: Alcaraz, Karatsev, Norrie & Ruud In Contention

Spoiler:

Nominees reached a significantly higher FedEx ATP Ranking by year’s end
Most Improved Player of the Year in the 2021 ATP Awards goes to the player who reached a significantly higher FedEx ATP Ranking by year’s end, and who demonstrated an increasingly improved level of performance through the season. This year’s nominees are Carlos Alcaraz, Aslan Karatsev, Cameron Norrie and Casper Ruud.

Player 2020 Year-End 2021 Year-End Career-High (Date)
Carlos Alcaraz No. 141 No. 32 (+109) No. 32 (Nov.
Aslan Karatsev No. 112 No. 18 (+94) No. 15 (Nov.
Cameron Norrie No. 71 No. 12 (+59) No. 12 (Nov.
Casper Ruud No. 27 No. 8 (+19) No. 8 (Oct. 25)
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz made headlines in 2021 as he enjoyed a standout season. The Spaniard began the year at No. 141 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but soared to a current career-high No. 32 under the guidance of coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

In a historic year, the 18-year-old became the youngest man to reach the third round at Roland Garros since 17-year-old Andrei Medvedev in 1992, before earning his first tour-level title in Umag, defeating Richard Gasquet in the final.

Fuelled with confidence, Alcaraz upset then-World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarter-finals at the US Open and defeated Top 10 stars Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner respectively in Vienna and Paris. He rounded out his season in style by lifting the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals trophy.

“It has been a really good season for me,” Alcaraz said following his title run in Milan. “I am really happy about the moments I have experienced — beating Stefanos [Tsitsipas] at the US Open, reaching the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam and winning my first ATP [Tour title].”


Aslan Karatsev
Aslan Karatsev’s season began against Brandon Nakashima in the first round of qualifying at the Australian Open when the Russian was No. 114 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Fast forward one month and he had reached the semi-finals at the first major of the season, defeating Diego Schwartzman, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Grigor Dimitrov before losing to Novak Djokovic.

It was a run that gave Karatsev a renewed sense of belief and confidence, which he showcased in Dubai, where he soared to his first tour-level title, defeating Lloyd Harris in the championship match.

In a breakthrough season, the 28-year-old also triumphed on home soil in Moscow, reached the final in Belgrade and scored Top 2 wins against Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, finishing the year in the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

“It’s not just happening right now, there is [a lot of] work that was done before [to get here],” Karatsev said in April. “I had some injuries before and some troubles, and now we’re doing a good job with my coach. It’s been two and a half years and it’s just paying off in 2021... It’s coming from the hard work every day, and it’s a long process. You have to be there every day and work hard.”


Cameron Norrie
When Cameron Norrie was asked in January who he thought was going to have a breakthrough season, the 26-year-old bravely backed himself. It is a statement that Norrie backed up in style, rising from No. 71 in the FedEx ATP Rankings at the start of the year to a current career-high No. 12.

The Briton won his first tour-level title at the Mifel Open in Los Cabos and claimed his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The 26-year-old, who earned Top 10 wins against Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev, also reached tour-level finals in Estoril, Lyon, at the Queen’s Club, and San Diego. Norrie finished the season by making his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals as the second alternate in Turin.

On competing at the season finale and reflecting on his year overall, Norrie said: “It was one of the biggest matches for my career, so I just tried to learn from Indian Wells and take from that the experience, the emotions, playing big matches and playing well under the pressure there. It has been a lot of fun playing at this level and playing at this level all year.”


Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud continuously broke new barriers throughout his remarkable 2021 campaign as he rose into the game’s upper echelons by translating his clay-court success onto hard.

He enjoyed semi-final runs at back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Madrid, before he captured his first tour-level trophy of the season in Geneva. However, this was just the start for Ruud, who triumphed in Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbühel to become the first player since Andy Murray in October 2011 to win three titles in three consecutive weeks.

With the foundations laid for Nitto ATP Finals qualification, Ruud then won his first hard-court title in San Diego. The 22-year-old, who also became the first Norwegian to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, delivered at the season finale, advancing to the semi-finals at the Pala Alpitour.

“I think the biggest change for me is my self-confidence and belief that I can play at this level is much higher,” Ruud said in Turin. “I am a guy that hasn’t played as much on the biggest stage. I’ve had a taste of it, but I’ve worked my way up slowly and steady. I hope players respect me a little more now than a year or two ago.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/atp-awa ... r-nominees

[Art]

2021 w liczbach:

Ranking: 18
Bilans meczów: 34-20
Tytuły: 2 (Moskwa, Dubaj)
Finały: 1 (Belgrad)
Zarobki: $1,614,633

[Żilu]

[Barty]

[DUN I LOVE]

Jedyny słuszny wybór. Niesamowicie wszedł do rozgrywek w tym roku.

[Barty]

Djokovic & Murray Thrillers Feature In Best ATP Matches Of 2021

4) Serbia Open, SF, Aslan Karatsev d. Novak Djokovic 7-5, 4-6, 6-4

Home … it’s where the heart is, and there’s no place like it. In so many ways, this was Novak Djokovic’s tournament. After a nine-year hiatus, the player’s family organised the event in his home town of Belgrade, with brother Djordje serving as director. The venue was Djokovic’s training facility, the Novak Tennis Centre.

Thing is, no one informed Aslan Karatsev that the host was supposed to win. The 27-year-old Russian had come whistling out of obscurity at the Australian Open, qualifying his way into the main draw, then advancing to the semi-finals, where he fell to Djokovic in straight sets. He was the first man in the Open era to reach the semi-finals in his major debut.

It was no surprise when Djokovic opened the first two sets with a 2-0 lead, but Karatsev broke back immediately each time. The Russian took the first set and was up 4-2 in the second before Djokovic took the last four games to force a third set. While his aggressive play came with unquestionable risk – Karatsev faced an incredible 28 break points – ultimately, he was rewarded with a stunning victory. In the end, Karatsev saved 23 of those break points, all 10 in the decisive third set.

The rousing match required 3 hours, 25 minutes, at the time, the longest ATP match of the 2021 season.

“It was a long, tough match,” Karatsev said afterward. “You have to put [in] like 200 per cent to beat this guy, it’s like playing against a wall. I stepped on the court to win. I was believing, and I said to myself that I would play every ball no matter what.”

Karatsev would lose the final to Matteo Berrettini in a third-set tie-break. The win against Djokovic was, Karatsev said, the biggest of his career.

“Definitely, it’s the World No. 1,” he said. “I’m really happy, I put everything on the court.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-at ... 021-5-to-3

[Barty]

Karatsev's Australian Stunner One Of Biggest Slam Upsets Of 2021

3) Australian Open, Third Round, Aslan Karatsev d. Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

Spoiler:

When Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev swept all before them to guide Russia to the ATP Cup title in February, few could have predicted one half of the team’s doubles envoy was about to embark on an extraordinary run in singles at the ensuing Australian Open. World No. 114 Aslan Karatsev had fallen in all three doubles ties contested but Medvedev hailed him Russia’s “secret weapon”.

Competing all week alongside his Top 10 countrymen had clearly rubbed off. Karatsev made an immediate impact in his maiden Grand Slam main-draw appearance, surging into the third round, where he notched his first Top 10 victory over eighth seed Diego Schwartzman.

Russia’s secret weapon was not so secret anymore. Karatsev was outside the Top 250 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in March last year, but since the resumption of the ATP Tour from a Covid-19 pandemic hiatus, the 27-year-old won 18 of his final 20 ATP Challenger Tour matches in 2020.

In the fourth round of this year's Australian Open, the qualifier was tasked with taking on 20th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, after the #NextGen ATP Canadian upset his countryman Denis Shapovalov in the third round. The 20-year-old struck form leading in as he reached his seventh tour-level final at the Murray River Open (l. to Evans).

Auger-Aliassime looked in complete control as he took the opening two sets in just 70 minutes before the Russian began to find his range. After he was broken three straight times to concede the second set, Karatsev was never broken again as he swung the contest in his favour with clean, heavy ball-striking off both wings.

His 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory made him the first qualifier to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals since Goran Ivanisevic in 1989 and the first to reach the last eight in their Grand Slam debut since Alex Radulescu at Wimbledon in 1996.

“It was really tough in the beginning to play with him,” Karatsev said on court. “He's a really good player and he's playing really fast. It took me two sets to find a way how to play… I'm feeling good. Of course, a bit tired. But what could I do? I put everything in this match. I'm happy.”

Auger-Aliassime was left to rue a missed opportunity to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. Neither player had gone five sets before, but despite the defeat the Canadian felt he learned plenty.

“It's the first time I played five sets, first time this happens to me, maybe not the last one,” he said. “We'll see, but I'll just try to learn from that and be better next time.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/biggest ... 021-5-to-3

[Damian]