10 Things That Matter On Day 4 Of ATP Cup

The second phase of round robin matches comes to a close at the ATP Cup on Monday, with 12 countries aiming to boost their chances of reaching the Final Eight in Sydney.

Here are the 10 things that matter most ahead of Day 4 at the ATP Cup.

1) Final Eight Qualification: Serbia and France, who meet each other in the evening session at Pat Rafter Arena, can secure their spots at the Final Eight on Day 4. Team Serbia qualifies as Group winner if it defeats France and South Africa defeats Chile. Team France qualifies as Group Winner if it defeats Serbia and Chile defeats South Africa.

2) Building On Success: Alongside Serbia and France, Spain, Croatia, Japan and Argentina will all be hoping to boost their chances of reaching the Final Eight in Sydney by moving to 2-0 in their groups.

3) Getting to 1-1: For the six teams that made losing starts to their ATP Cup campaigns on Day 2, their second ties provide an opportunity to move up the group tables and increase their chances of booking a Final Eight position.

4) Using Technology: With the introduction of Team Zones and Video Review at the ATP Cup, the 12 nations competing on Monday will have a unique opportunity to digest tactical information and overturn incorrect decisions. Guido Pella took advantage of the tablet device in Team Argentina’s Team Zone to look back at previous errors and create a game plan to beat Kamil Majchrzak on Day 3. In the same tie, Team Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz successfully used Video Review.

5) South Africa v Chile: Both countries will be aiming to win their first tie at the ATP Cup in Brisbane. Lloyd Harris and Nicolas Jarry will open the tie, before Kevin Anderson and Cristian Garin contest the No. 1 singles match. Both matches will be maiden ATP Head2Head encounters.

6) Serbia v France: Depending on the result of South Africa and Chile’s tie, Serbia or France will enter Pat Rafter Arena knowing a win will confirm top spot in Group A. Benoit Paire and Dusan Lajovic open the tie, which is headlined by Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils’ 16th ATP Head2Head clash. Despite many close encounters, Djokovic enters the crucial meeting with an unbeaten 15-0 record against the Frenchman.

7) Japan v Georgia: Following mixed fortunes on Day 2, Japan and Georgia will meet in the first tie at RAC Arena. After dropping just one game in his ATP Cup opener, Yoshihito Nishioka will meet Nikoloz Basilashvili in the No. 1 singles contest.

8) Spain v Uruguay: After a 3-0 win against Georgia, Spain will face Uruguay in the night session. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal enters his match against Pablo Cuevas with a 4-1 ATP Head2Head record. Roberto Bautista Agut faces Martin Cuevas in the first match of the tie.

9) Croatia v Poland: Croatia will attempt to keep the momentum going against Poland, following its 3-0 victory over Austria on Day 2. Marin Cilic opens against Kamil Majchrzak, before Borna Coric faces Hurkacz. Coric, who stunned World No. 4 Dominic Thiem in his 2020 opener, owns a 1-0 ATP Head2Head record against Hurkacz.

10) Austria v Argentina: Austria will attempt to bounce back from an opening loss to Croatia against Day 2 winners Argentina. Thiem will face good friend Diego Schwartzman for the eighth time in their ATP Head2Head rivalry (Thiem leads 5-2). Following wins for Thiem in their opening three contests, three of the past four meetings between the pair have required a deciding set.