The exhibition tournaments have come to an end – who will be remembered?

These days many tennis fans have faced a completely unusual situation. Nobody could expect tennis tournaments to have been suspended in April and be back only after several months, in August. Who would’ve thought that the US Open would take place in such circumstances – without cheering fans, under a strict sanitary regime. Although some people may have already come to terms with the suspension of any tennis matches, the organisers of the exhibition tournaments cheered the fans up. Whether a layman or an expert – the fans could be surely satisfied and furthermore, over the course of the past few weeks plenty of, so far unknown, tennis players showed the best of their abilities. Thanks to this article you’ll get to know them.

Arthur Fery

Let’s start with a tennis player, who still remains rather unknown, at least in Europe. However, it has changed in the UK recently, where he got publicity after participating in some national exhibition tournaments. Arthur Fery, who has proved to be a solid junior player, played almost the highest number of matches in the British Tour. A lack of experience in the professional tour didn’t stop him from winning most of them. The 18-year-old player has achieved great results – 27 wins and only 4 losses. Even though the exhibition tournaments have their own laws and many players seek new solutions and try out different game strategies, this winning streak is impressive. Especially when it comes to a teenager ranked no. 1199 in the ATP rankings.

In a coverage for LTA Fery said he aimed to become one of the top 50 players in the world and play Grand Slam tournaments. Indeed, there’s still a long way to go, but don’t forget this name. In a few months his regular wins in the ITF Tennis Tour should come as no surprise, at least to those who have previously heard his name.

Liam Draxl

Liam Draxl is another young player, who took advantage of the suspension of the regular tours and became more recognisable, thanks to his participation in the exhibition tournaments. The 18-year-old Canadian hasn’t had too many opportunities to do it yet as he’s still a student of an American high school and couldn’t allow enough time for professional competition. Nevertheless, he has managed to get into the best 600 in the ATP rankings. During his career he has even won some matches in the ATP Challenger Tour.

Obviously, the Draxl’s performance in the American exhibition tournaments was intensive (he played mostly in Florida). Despite 11 losses, the most gifted Canadian junior player succeeded 54 times. It’s worth mentioning that among others, he won against Paolo Lorenzi, Dmitry Popko and Aslan Karatsev.

The Canadians have already been satisfied with another two young tennis players, Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger Aliassime, who can soon be joined by Draxl as well.

Adrian Andreev

Bulgaria is not famous for great tennis players. Although it’s been successfully represented in the international tournaments by Grigor Dimitrov, there’s barely anyone, who can reach his level anytime soon. However, after some great performances last year (for instance, his appearance in the ITF tournament final), the results achieved by Adrian Andreev this year seem to be the light at the end of the tunnel once he’s proved his potential in the exhibition tournaments. The 18-year-old player presented top form during the International Tennis Series in the US, when the regular tournaments were suspended. 24 -3 – that’s an impressive win-loss record as for the player who is ranked towards the end of no. 600 in the ATP rankings.

Paolo Lorenzi, Peter Polansky, Dominik Koepfer – these players unexpectedly lost against him, the Italian even twice. It’s not a coincidence. Once the Bulgarian has made himself comfortable in the professional tournaments, there is a great chance for him to participate in the ATP Challenger Tour on a regular basis.