The group stages come to an end on Day 6 at the ATP Cup, with the four remaining spots at the Final Eight in Sydney up for grabs. The winners of Groups B and E will be decided, while the two best second-placed finishers will be confirmed.

Here are the 10 things that matter most ahead of Day 6 at the ATP Cup.

1) Final Eight Spots: Who will join Australia, Serbia, Russia and Great Britain in the Final Eight? The four remaining places will be taken on Day 6 as 12 nations complete their final group stage ties across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.

2) Down To The Wire: With two Final Eight spots awarded to the best second-placed finishers across the six groups, Day 6 matches will take on added importance as countries attempt to end the group stages with the best possible records.

3) Spain or Japan: The scenario is simple for Spain and Japan in Group B: win and you’re in. With both nations entering Day 6 with 2-0 records, the winner of the tie will finish as the unbeaten winner of Group B.

4) Group E Scenarios: With a win against Argentina, the top spot in Group E will belong to Croatia. If Argentina manages to claim a win, several scenarios come into play. The percentage of sets won could prove the deciding factor, with Argentina and Austria both in the running to qualify for the Final Eight as Group E winners.

5) Serbia v Chile: With Final Eight qualification secured, Serbia will meet Chile in its third Group A clash. Dusan Lajovic and Nicolas Jarry will open the tie at Pat Rafter Arena, with Novak Djokovic and Cristian Garin meeting in the No. 1 singles contest. Lajovic and Jarry split their two previous ATP Head2Head meetings, with both encounters requiring a decisive final set.

6) France v South Africa: France and South Africa enter their final tie with 1-1 records, eager to clinch second place in Group A behind Serbia. Lloyd Harris and Benoit Paire meet in No. 2 singles, before Gael Monfils and Kevin Anderson contest their seventh ATP Head2Head clash. Monfils owns a 5-1 record against the South African, but Anderson claimed his lone victory in the pair’s most recent clash at Wimbledon in 2018.

7) Spain v Japan: Spain and Japan are both undefeated in singles play at the ATP Cup. One country will lose that record when Roberto Bautista Agut meets Go Soeda. Rafael Nadal or Yoshihito Nishioka will then have the opportunity to secure Final Eight qualification for their country. Nadal defeated Nishioka in straight sets in their maiden ATP Head2Head encounter in Acapulco in 2017.

8) Georgia v Uruguay: Nikoloz Basilashvili and Pablo Cuevas will meet in the evening session at RAC Arena as Georgia and Uruguay aim to finish Group B with their first tie victory. Basilashvili and Cuevas are tied at 1-1 in their ATP Head2Head rivalry.

9) Austria v Poland: After Dennis Novak and Kacper Zuk’s No. 2 singles match, Dominic Thiem will face Hubert Hurkacz at Ken Rosewall Arena. At last year’s Miami Open presented by Itau, Hurkacz broke Thiem on four occasions to win in 77 minutes. In doubles, Hurkacz and Zuk will return to the court to face Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer.

10) Croatia v Argentina: In a crucial tie in Group E, Marin Cilic and Guido Pella open the night session in Sydney. Borna Coric will aim to improve his 2-1 ATP Head2Head record against Diego Schwartzman, before Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic face Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in doubles.

Entering the ATP Cup, Dimitar Kuzmanov did not own an ATP Tour win. Now, the 26-year-old has two.

Kuzmanov defeated former World No. 38 Steve Darcis 6-0, 6-3 on Tuesday in Sydney to give Bulgaria a 1-0 lead against Belgium. It was a massive win for the Bulgarians, who can clinch a spot in the Final Eight by triumphing against the Belgians.

If Belgium comes back to win 2-1, Great Britain will top the group and earn their spot in the Final Eight, which will also take place in Sydney at Ken Rosewall Arena.

Kuzmanov battled hard in his opening match of the event against Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie, falling in three sets. But instead of getting down on himself, Kuzmanov has raised his level even higher. The World No. 417 defeated Moldova’s Alexander Cozbinov on Sunday, and he needed just 77 minutes to dismiss Darcis, who once beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, on Tuesday.

The Belgian typically frustrates opponents with his slice backhand, forcing opponents out of their comfort zone. But Kuzmanov was undeterred, and it was Darcis who made unforced errors during the crucial moments. He gave away the decisive break in the second set by missing a tight forehand into the net, giving Kuzmanov a 5-3 lead. On his second match point, the Bulgarian fell to the court in celebration when Darcis mishit another forehand.

Kuzmanov struggled to contain his emotions, seemingly shedding tears on the court before embracing his teammates near their Team Zone. Former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov will next face Belgian No. 1 David Goffin. Dimitrov leads their ATP Head2Head series 8-1.

Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff continued his impressive start to the 2020 ATP Tour season and put Germany ahead of Canada in a vital ATP Cup tie on Tuesday in Brisbane.

The 29-year-old swept #NextGenATP star Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-4, needing only 75 minutes to improve to 2-1 on the season. Struff hit six aces and faced only one break point, which he saved, despite landing a little more than half of his first serves. The 6’6” German won 73 per cent of his second-serve points.

After the match, he added his name to the list of players who have pledged support for the Australian bushfire relief efforts. Struff said he will donate $2,000 to the cause.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev will look to win his first match of the season and clinch the tie next against Denis Shapovalov. Both teams are looking to boost their record and hopefully qualify for the Final Eight as a second-placed team.

All six ATP Cup group winners, in addition to the two best second-place teams, will compete in Sydney starting Thursday.

Who’s In Contention For The Final Eight In Sydney?

Following the conclusion of Day 4 at the inaugural ATP Cup in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, Australia and Serbia have secured their spots for the Final Eight.
 

Day 5

Group C qualification scenarios after the completion of the second round of ties of the event’s group stages:
 
Regardless of score if Belgium defeats Bulgaria and Moldova defeats Great Britain, Belgium wins the group.
 
Regardless of score if Bulgaria defeats Belgium, Bulgaria wins the group.
 
If Belgium defeats Bulgaria 2-1 and Great Britain defeats Moldova 2-1, Belgium wins the group.
If Belgium defeats Bulgaria 2-1 and Great Britain defeats Moldova 3-0, Great Britain wins the group.
If Belgium defeats Bulgaria 3-0 and Great Britain defeats Moldova, Belgium wins the group.
 

Group D qualification scenarios after the completion of the second round of ties of the event’s group stages:
 
Regardless of score if Russia defeats Norway, Russia wins the group.
 
Regardless of score if Norway defeats Russia and USA defeats Italy, Norway wins the group.
 
If Norway defeats Russia 2-1 and Italy defeats USA, Russia wins the group.
If Norway defeats Russia 3-0 and Italy defeats USA, Norway wins the group.
 

Group F qualification scenarios after the completion of the second round of ties of the event’s group stages:
 
Australia has qualified for the Final Eight as Group F winners
 
Australia will play its quarter-final in the Day Session, Thursday 9 January against the winner of Group C.

Day 6

Group A qualification scenarios after the completion of the second round of ties of the event’s group stages:

Serbia has qualified for the Final Eight as Group A winners

Serbia will play its quarter-final in the Day Session, Friday 10 January against the eighth team to qualify.

Group B qualification scenarios after the completion of the second round of ties of the event’s group stages:

The winner of the tie between Spain and Japan will win Group B.

Group E qualification scenarios after the completion of the second round of ties of the event’s group stages:

Regardless of score if Croatia defeats Argentina, Croatia wins the group.

Regardless of score if Argentina defeats Croatia and Poland defeats Austria, Argentina wins the group.

If Argentina defeats Croatia 2-1 and Austria defeats Poland 2-1, Croatia wins the group.
If Argentina defeats Croatia 2-1 and Austria defeats Poland 3-0, Croatia wins the group.
If Argentina defeats Croatia 3-0 and Austria defeats Poland 2-1, Group winner will be decided by Sets Win-Loss %.
If Argentina defeats Croatia 3-0 and Austria defeats Poland 3-0, Austria wins the group.

There have been many notable moments in the career of Novak Djokovic, but the Serbian can add two more to his list following Team Serbia’s dramatic 2-1 victory against Team France at the ATP Cup.

Firstly, the Serbian’s 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-3 doubles victory alongside Viktor Troicki earned his country a spot at the Final Eight in Sydney. But Djokovic will also remember the match for a different reason, after losing a point for the first time in his career by Video Review.

Video Review ?#TeamFrance use VR to overturn a foul smash off the Djokovic racquet.#ATPCup pic.twitter.com/1x6cvkqWll

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 6, 2020

With Troicki serving at 6-3, 2-3, (30/30), Djokovic dismissed Nicolas Mahut’s return with a forehand volley to earn game point. But Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin were convinced the Serbian had touched the ball before it had travelled across the net.

“It seemed to me, at first, that it was kind of just in the middle. Not our side. Not their side,” said Djokovic. “But then, the chair umpire, after repeating the video a couple of times, he was right.”

The situation reminded Djokovic of the moment he fell into the net while hitting another forehand volley during the fifth set of his 2013 Roland Garros semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal.

“I already lost a very important point in my career against Nadal in a similar way like that in the semi-finals at Roland Garros,” said Djokovic. “So I had a little bit of a déjà vu there and got frustrated because of that.”

Follow the Final Eight Picture

But the frustration of a game point becoming a break point did not affect the 77-time tour-level titlist. Djokovic and Troicki recovered from the position to hold serve, delighting much of the pro-Serbia crowd inside Pat Rafter Arena.

“It is what it is. We bounced back, won the next two points,” said Djokovic. “That got myself, I think Viktor and the crowd a little bit hyped up. I think after that the energy of the crowd was amazing. Also, the French team were lifting their team up and it was a big battle.”

Serbia will face Chile in its final group stage tie on Day 6 before travelling to Sydney for the Final Eight. The Group A winners will face the eighth team to qualify for the Final Eight in the day session on 10 January.

Alexander Bublik marked his Qatar ExxonMobil Open debut with a notable victory on Monday, defeating seventh seed Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round.

The 22-year-old landed 10 aces and broke Mannarino on three occasions at the 2019 ATP 250 Tournament of the Year. Bublik enters the 2020 ATP Tour season after a breakout campaign last year, highlighted by runner-up finishes at the Hall of Fame Open and the Chengdu Open.

The Kazakh will face Aljaz Bedene for a spot in the quarter-finals, following the Slovenian’s 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win against 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Mikael Ymer.

Fernando Verdasco needed 89 minutes to book his place in the second round, battling past fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-3. The 2017 semi-finalist will meet sixth seed Filip Krajinovic or Kyle Edmund in the second round.

“I’m happy with the way that I played,” said Verdasco. “I still think that I can play a little bit better… But in general, I’m happy with the way that I played the whole match.”

Corentin Moutet also started his 2020 ATP Tour season with a win, saving each of the seven break points he faced to move past Tennys Sandgren 7-6(3), 6-4. Moutet advances to a second-round clash against fourth seed Milos Raonic.