Bautista Agut Trains With Nadal In Mallorca Ahead Of ATP Cup
With the new ATP Tour season officially kicking off on Thursday, some players are still looking to squeeze in some last-minute preparation ahead of their own tournament debuts. Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut is the latest player to hit the courts in Mallorca at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar to continue his pre-season with the top-ranked Spaniard.
The current World No. 13 travelled to Mallorca with his coach Pepe Vendrell to train alongside 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, both players focusing on their first tournament of the year. The pair are set to represent Spain in the ATP Cup, where they will be the No. 1 and No. 2 players for the nation that finished last year’s edition as runners-up after losing to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.
In 2020, Nadal and Bautista Agut were also part of the Spanish outfit at the inaugural ATP Cup. While the Mallorcan led his country, as is customary, the Castellon native made a name for himself in the competition by winning all six singles matches he played and ending the event unbeaten.
This time around, the ATP Cup takes place at Melbourne Park from 1 to 5 February with 12 countries battling it out for the prestigious title. Spain, with Nadal, Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreño Busta and Marcel Granollers, are one of the favourites for the event.
Bautista Agut, who will stay at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar until next Sunday, completed his first training session with Nadal on Thursday on one of the facility’s indoor courts under the watchful eyes of Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya and Vendrell.
The No. 13 in the FedEx ATP Ranking is visiting the Nadal’s academy for the first time, following preseason visits from players such as Felix Auger-Aliassime and Lorenzo Sonego.
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