ATP Cup: Nadal, Bautista Agut star as Spain through to quarterfinals
Tennis | Jan 08, 2020, 01:08 PM ISTRafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut sent Spain to the quarterfinals of the ATP Cup.
Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut sent Spain to the quarterfinals of the ATP Cup.
Spain now has two wins from two starts in Group B and next faces unbeaten Japan to determine first place and automatic qualification for the playoffs in Sydney.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic defeated Kevin Anderson 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) while Rafael Nadal got the better of beating Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 7-5 for Spain.
Rafael Nadal had a phenomenal 2019, winning his 12th French Open title and fourth US Open crown, as well as being victorious at the Masters 1000 events in Rome and Montreal.
ATP Cup will be a 24-team affair with names like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Denis Shapovalov confirming their participation.
The only twist in the tale that 2019 served was the rise of the Next Gen power in the form of Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic once again dominated the world of tennis with Andy Murray breaking it for a brief while in 2016.
The match between two players, who will be among the shortlist of favourites at next month's Australian Open, fully lived up to the expectations.
The International Tennis Federation also announced its year-end awards Thursday, with year-end No. 1s Nadal and Ash Barty named ITF World Champions.
They will be joined by Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, Roberto Bautista Agut and Gael Monfils.
Nadal won all his matches, leading Spain to their sixth Davis Cup with a victory over first-time finalist Canada on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal won his singles and doubles matches to lead Spain to a 2-1 comeback win over Britain, putting the hosts in the Davis Cup final for the first time since 2012.
Rafael Nadal guided Spain to a 2-1 comeback victory over Argentina while Britain advanced past Germany thanks to Kyle Edmund’s win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Rafael Nadal beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 while Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez got the better of Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6 to give Spain a 2-1 win over Russia.
Alexander Zverev beat already eliminated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6 to qualify for the semi-finals and eliminate Rafael Nadal from the ATP Finals in the process.
The top-ranked Spaniard still needs help from Daniil Medvedev to avoid an early exit.
Rafael Nadal saved that match point with a perfect drop shot and then rallied to beat Danil Medvedev 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 on Wednesday despite being 1-5 down.
Something was clearly off for Nadal, though, who lost 6-2, 6-4 to a player he had a perfect 5-0 record against before Monday's match at the O2 Arena.
Federer is set to play against Serbian Novak Djokovic, Austrian Dominic Thiem and Italian Matteo Berrettini.
Nadal, the winner of 19 Grand Slam titles, will be making his fifth appearance in the tournament, which will take place from February 24-29, the Mexican Open Organizing Committee said, reports Efe news.
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