Spaniards brush aside Aussies in ATP Cup opener as Rafael Nadal watches from sidelines
The talent-laden Spaniards have dispatched Australia with minimal fuss in their ATP Cup tie, but questions remain about Rafael Nadal’s fitness a week out from the Australian Open.
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Spain’s tennis riches were on display on Tuesday night as the powerhouse nation overcame Rafael Nadal’s injury absence to cruel Australia’s ATP Cup hopes.
Roberto Bautista Agut stepped into Nadal’s shoes as the No. 1 player for last year’s runner-up, but was initially sluggish against Alex de Minaur in his first match since emerging from a fortnight of hard quarantine.
The late reshuffle came about because the 20-times grand slam champion announced just half an hour before the tie that he would skip it because of back stiffness.
Spain was still able to call on top-20 stars Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta.
Carreno Busta gave Spain a 1-0 edge with an emphatic 6-2 6-4 defeat of John Millman, before Bautista Agut rallied past de Minaur and clinch the tie with an impressive 4-6 6-4 6-4 triumph.
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The world No. 13 had lost his previous two matches against the 21-year-old Australian, who began the season by winning the Antalya title.
“Everybody knows Alex — he’s a great fighter, great player, and he comes from a winning tournament, so he was confident and it took me a while to get the rhythm of the match,” Bautista Agut said.
“I just wanted to fight when I was 5-1 down in the first set. I was trying to get the rhythm and speed of the court and it’s never easy to start a season.
“You’re always a little bit more nervous in the first match and I fought well and got the rhythm and finished the match playing very well.”
Israeli media reported Bautista Agut’s complaint of quarantine being “like prison, but with Wi-Fi” in a conversation he alleged was supposed to be private — and life wasn’t much better early against de Minaur.
He slipped 5-1 behind without holding serve once, but suddenly found a spark when all looked lost — breaking the Aussie twice in a row — only to feebly dump a forehand into the net to drop the set.
However, the momentum had shifted. That was confirmed when Bautista Agut clinched the break in the third game, and he didn’t face a break point in forcing a final set.
The Spaniard’s sudden service dominance was in stark contrast to his opening-set struggles and he also started piling up opportunities on de Minaur’s serve.
The mounting pressure told as the Sydneysider slipped 3-1 behind the 2019 Australian Open quarter-finalist.
De Minaur fought the contest out and lost no admirers, but his forehand was no longer the reliable force it was in his blistering opening — and his veteran opponent didn’t flinch down the stretch.
Earlier, Carreno Busta breezed past Millman for his fourth victory in their five meetings.
The dual US Open semi-finalist was in control of the match from the time he broke Millman for a second time and snatched a 3-2 first-set advantage.
Carreno Busta’s ability to stand-and-deliver with his baseline shot-making proved too much for an error-prone Millman.
Earlier, Nadal tweeted the surprising news of his withdrawal.
“Hi all, we have decided with #TeamSpain and my team, to not play today the first match of the @ATPCup here in #Melbourne since I have a stiff low back,” Nadal posted.
Hi all, we have decided with #TeamSpain and my team, to not play today the first match of the @ATPCup here in #Melbourne since I have a stiff low back. Hopefully I’ll be better for Thursday. We have a strong team, all the to @pablocarreno91 @BautistaAgut & @M_Granollers #vamos 🇪🇸
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) February 2, 2021
Australia must beat Stefanos Tsitsipas-led Greece on Wednesday night to keep its chances of progressing alive. Nadal hopes to recover in time to play Tsitsipas on Thursday.
DJOKOVIC MAKES PERFECT START
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic got his season off to a perfect start with a battling win over hot-shot Denis Shapovalov in the ATP Cup, but world number three Dominic Thiem crashed to defeat.
The Serbian world number one, who will be chasing a ninth Australian Open crown when the first Grand Slam of the year begins on Monday, was pushed hard before coming through 7-5, 7-5 against the Canadian on Rod Laver Arena Djokovic showed no signs of being hindered by a nasty blister on his racquet hand that troubled him at an Adelaide exhibition last week and returned 30 minutes later alongside Filip Frajinovic to play the decisive doubles rubber.
The pair beat Shapovalov and Milos Raonic 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) as defending champions Serbia took the tie against Canada 2-1 in Group A.
“It was a great opening of the season. Playing Shapo is always a great challenge on hardcourts, he is such a dynamic, explosive player,” said Djokovic, who was fired up by playing in front of a smattering of noisy Serbian fans.
“I thought we both played on a pretty high level, so I’m really pleased with the way I started the season.
“This is a great competition,” added Djokovic, who won all eight matches he contested en route to the trophy last year.
“We need more competitions where we represent a team, represent our country.” Serbia beat Rafael Nadal’s Spain in the final of the inaugural and hugely popular tournament last year in Sydney – launched as a rival to the Davis Cup.
It has been slimmed down from 24 teams to 12 this year due to the coronavirus with all matches at Melbourne Park over five days with US$7.5 million at stake, rather than the multi-city format employed in 2020.
Spain face a tough opening tie later Tuesday against hosts Australia, with Nadal up against fast-improving Alex de Minaur.
On a cool day, big-serving Raonic got Canada off to a blistering start, crushing Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 in just 79 minutes to give his team a 1-0 lead, with the former world number three, now ranked 15, dropping just eight points on serve while sending down 11 aces.
It was left to Djokovic to level the tie before clinching the doubles rubber. The Alexander Zverev-led Germany are also in Group A and play Wednesday.
THIEM TUMBLES
While Djokovic tasted victory, US Open champion Thiem, who lost to the Serb in a gripping Australian Open final last year, got his season off to a disappointing start.
He slumped 6-2, 6-4 to Italian world number 10 Matteo Berrettini who never allowed the Austrian to get going with his big-swinging game.
“I’m very happy obviously for myself, but in this competition we’re playing for a team, so it’s really nice,” Berrettini said. “I’m really happy with my performance.
“Playing for your country is something special.” Berrettini was under pressure after Austria took the lead in their Group C clash when 100th-ranked Dennis Novak earned one of the biggest wins of his career, upsetting world number 17 Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-2.
It sent the tie to a deciding doubles with Thiem returning alongside Novak only to crash again, losing 6-1, 6-4 to Berrettini and Fognini.
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