Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have faced off in finals at every Grand Slam and many of the ATP Tour’s leading events, but both men will meet in new surroundings on Sunday at Ken Rosewall Arena.

The World No. 1 and World No. 2 lead their countries into the inaugural ATP Cup final, with both men eager to lift the trophy alongside their countrymen for the first time. Nadal and Djokovic will meet for the 55th time in their ATP Head2Head series (Djokovic leads 28-26) in the tie’s second match, when one player will be able to clinch the title for their team.

“It’s going to be a super tough final against Serbia,” said Nadal. “Novak likes to play here and Serbia has a great team and is playing very well. But Roberto played an amazing match this afternoon and we have a good team, so we are ready for it.”

Nadal has been impressed by the form of his great rival in the build up to their latest encounter. Djokovic owns a perfect 6-0 record at the ATP Cup so far, which includes singles victories against Top 15 stars Daniil Medvedev, Gael Monfils and Denis Shapovalov.

“[It is going to] be a tough match for me, of course. He has been playing some great matches this week,” said Nadal.

“But here I am. I think I finished with positive energy [against De Minaur]. I know I have to be ready to play at my highest level to have my chance [against Djokovic]. I need something else, and I’m looking for it.”

After contesting two matches against Belgium and rallying from a set down to beat Alex de Minaur, Nadal has spent more than six and a half hours on court since arriving in Sydney.

“Physically, I guess he is a little ahead of me. Djokovic plays on a surface that is perhaps his favourite,” said Nadal. “I know I have a complicated game, but if I play at my best level I hope to have my chances. Then, we have other matches in the tie that can help us achieve something important”.

The opening tie of the contest will feature Roberto Bautista Agut and Dusan Lajovic. Top 10 star Bautista Agut enters the contest in top form, having won five matches at this event for the loss of just 19 games.

Lajovic also enters the final with confidence, following his straight-sets victory against Karen Khachanov. The World No. 34, who owns a 4-1 record at this event, will be aiming to record his first win against Bautista Agut in their fourth ATP Head2Head clash. If Lajovic can break new ground, he will hand Djokovic the opportunity to capture the title for Serbia against Nadal.

“I want to give [Dusan] a huge credit for what he has done in this competition so far. He’s won all of his matches except one, and the one he lost was in tight three sets,” said Djokovic.

“His level is getting higher and higher as the competition progresses, which is so good to see [from] him. As a friend and someone that has followed his development for many years, to see him playing this well is fantastic.”

Following the two singles encounters, Nadal and Djokovic will both return to the court in what could prove to be a winner-takes-all doubles contest.

Nadal will partner Pablo Carreno Busta in the final match of the tournament. The Spaniards own a 2-0 record as a pair in this event, which includes a tie-deciding Match Tie-break victory against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic will join forces with Viktor Troicki, who has secured wins in four of his five matches at the ATP Cup. Djokovic and Troicki have also triumphed in a pivotal doubles contest en route to the final, defeating Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in a Match Tie-break to secure a 2-1 victory for Serbia in Group A.

With Nadal and Djokovic adding another chapter to their famous rivalry, Spain and Serbia are one tie away from writing the first entry in the ATP Cup history book.

The inaugural ATP Cup champions are ready to be crowned.

To say Novak Djokovic rode a roller coaster on Saturday would be an understatement. The World No. 2 navigated his way through plenty of ups and downs to squeak past Daniil Medvedev in two hours and 48 minutes.

But it wasn’t the length of the match that made it special; it was the intensity. Djokovic and Medvedev engaged in gut-busting rallies that at times left the Serbian bent over, not because he’s not as fit as they come, but because of the physicality of the points.

“Exciting, exhausting, joyful, dreadful all at once,” Djokovic said. “At one point I think we both refused to miss from [the] baseline, so it was a lot of rallies and it was very exhausting. Very physical battle, but also [a] mental battle.”

In a way, Djokovic was looking himself in the mirror. After the 31-minute first set, in which Medvedev made 12 unforced errors from 46 points, the Russian buckled down and forced the Serbian to do something special to win a point, lengthening the rallies and turning the match into a battle of attrition.

“You have to try to use the various tactics and variations in the game itself, the rotation in the ball, and not really give him always the same look because it seems like he’s a machine,” Djokovic said. “I feel the same when I’m in lockdown, so it was a very physical battle. Some amazing points obviously.

“[It was] definitely one of the most exciting matches I have played against him or any other top player [in the] past few years.”

Djokovic left no doubt that the pro-Serbian crowd inside Ken Rosewall Arena helped push him over the finish line. There were plenty of reasons Djokovic could have become frustrated against the ultra-consistent Medvedev, but there was no way he was letting down his country’s fans.

“I love playing for Serbia and for my country, and team competitions is something that gets me going tremendously,” Djokovic said. “I love it. I love the experiences, the emotions. Nenad [Zimonjic] is our captain. All of the guys on the team are dear friends of mine, some of the best friends I have in my life. I have known them for over 20 years.

“So to get to share these kind of quality moments on and off the court with them, it feels like you’re traveling with a family. That gives you even more reason to keep on playing.

“That’s why I wouldn’t say that I’m really fully focussed on Melbourne. Of course that’s where I want to play my best, but this time is different, because ATP Cup is really, is more special. I really enjoy it because of all of the things that I just stated.”

Djokovic has already overcome plenty of obstacles during the first event of the season, beating the likes of Kevin Anderson, Denis Shapovalov and Medvedev. And now, he will face his biggest challenge yet in World No. 1 Rafael Nadal when Serbia faces Spain for the championship.

It doesn’t take much to get the 77-time tour-level champion going. But he will be keen to extend his 28-26 ATP Head2Head series lead against the lefty legend.

“It’s the beginning of the season, and I’m not the only player that feels and talks this way, but I’m very motivated,” Djokovic said. “I’m inspired to play my best tennis.”

Tony Roche, the 74-year-old Australian who once coached the likes of Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter and Ivan Lendl, was presented with the Tim Gullikson Career Coach award on Saturday evening before the Australia-Spain ATP Cup semi-final inside Ken Rosewall Arena.

Former World No. 1 Hewitt presented Roche with the award. This is the inaugural Tim Gullikson Career Coach award, recognising coaches who, throughout their careers, have had a major impact on the sport of tennis, both on and off the court. 

“I started with the juniors and worked my way up. The whole thing is, you try to get the best out of your player, have a bit of fun and enjoy,” Roche said. “I was lucky enough to work with some of the great tennis players of all-time and yet still remain very good friends with those guys and that’s very important to me.”

Roche was unanimously selected as the winner of this new award. The recipients will exemplify excellence, leadership, respect, and a true love for the sport of tennis and the art of coaching. Named after the late Tim Gullikson, the award showcases someone who has inspired generations of young players and fellow coaches to grow the sport of tennis.

Rafael Nadal endured Alex de Minaur’s very best tennis and clinched Spain an ATP Cup final berth on Saturday night in Sydney.

The World No. 1 was down a set and hadn’t seen a break point all night until De Minaur served to stay in the second set, at 6-4, 5-6. But the Spaniard converted his first break point that game and stepped up from there, breaking three more times in the third to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Buy Tickets To Sunday’s Final!

Spain will now face Novak Djokovic and Serbia for the inaugural ATP Cup title. Serbia reached the final earlier Saturday behind wins from Dusan Lajovic (d. Khachanov) and Djokovic (d. Medvedev) against Russia.

“It was tough at the beginning of the match as Alex was playing at a very high level and my energy was a little lower than usual. Yesterday was a very long day in heavy conditions,” Nadal said.

“It’s going to be a super tough final against Serbia. Novak likes to play here and Serbia has a great team and is playing very well. But Roberto played an amazing match this afternoon and we have a good team, so we are ready for it.”

Nadal lost to Belgian David Goffin on Friday night, and the Spaniard hadn’t dropped consecutive matches since October 2016, when he fell to Grigor Dimitrov in the China Open quarter-finals and Viktor Troicki at the Rolex Shanghai Masters five days later. Nadal also had never endured back-to-back losses in his 206 weeks as the World No. 1.

But De Minaur was playing the tennis of his life in front of a raucous Aussie crowd. De Minaur broke Nadal to start the match and held to love as he served for the set, taking the opener behind back-to-back forehand winners.

For the first two sets, De Minaur had Nadal on defence, taking the ball early and cutting off the angles to nudge the Spaniard behind the baseline. Nadal controlled his service games but rarely made in-roads on De Minaur’s serve.

Before the 12^th game of the second set, the Aussie had dropped only two service points all set. But at 5-6, De Minaur sliced a backhand into the net to give Nadal set point, which the Spaniard converted and just like that, despite De Minaur’s 17 winners that set, they were even.

“You need to have the mind open and clear to find solutions, and I was not able to win many points on the return during all the second set. I needed to change something, and that’s what I did,” Nadal said.

“I think I advanced my position around one metre, one metre and a half on the return, on the Deuce [side] especially, and I take the first point. And then the game change, because then the pressure is on the other side of the court.

“I just tried to change a little bit the dynamic, tried to change a little bit the energy of the match in that moment and tried to make the opponent feel something different that it’s not going the same way that it had been going for the last 30 minutes.”

In the third, Nadal accelerated and De Minaur cooled off as the Spaniard jumped out to a 4-0 lead and quieted the crowd inside Ken Rosewall Arena.

“He changed his game plan a bit more. He started to step up in the court a bit more and not let me dictate as much. Therefore, I felt like I had to push a bit more, and that’s when the mistakes came,” De Minaur said.

“For me to play the match, I’ve got to play a very aggressive game. I’m red-lining for a lot of that match, so a couple missed balls here and there, and he ended up just being too good.”

Earlier, Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed Nick Kyrgios 6-1, 6-4 to give Spain a 1-0 lead.

“Nick is a great talent so to beat him in two sets means I did a great job. My game plan was trying to make him under pressure to play every point and to make him work the whole match,” Bautista Agut said. “Tennis is a tough job. We are used to coming to the court very tired and having to still play and give our best on the court and that’s what Spain does every time.”

Highlights: Bautista Agut Claims Kyrgios Win

Bautista Agut, who improved to 5-0 at the ATP Cup, broke twice to start and led 5-0 after 22 minutes.

During that changeover, Kyrgios received a long talking to from captain Lleyton Hewitt in the Team Zone and seemed rejuvenated, holding three consecutive times. But at 2-2 in the second set, Bautista Agut delivered a second serve return deep to Kyrgios, who shanked a forehand long to give the World No. 10 his third break of the night. The break quieted the home faithful.

“We are used to playing these kinds of matches. It’s very nice to play with a full crowd, with a lot of spectators. It feels great to play tennis like this in a big match against Nick,” Bautista Agut said.

Kyrgios finished with 27 unforced errors to 24 winners.

In doubles, Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez secured a 3-0 tie victory for Spain. Carreno Busta and Lopez saved all four break points they faced to beat John Peers and Chris Guccione 6-2, 6-7(6), 10-4.

Highlights: Lopez/Carreno Busta Make It 3-0 For Spain

When Dusan Lajovic was eight years old, his aunt bought him a book titled Wimbledon, which he says was the 1991 edition. The Serbian, who originally wanted to be a soccer player, began playing tennis at seven because it was the only sport available to his age group, and he remembers reading the book to learn about the history of the sport.

“It gave me a lot of good stuff to see how the players were playing in such an important tournament,” Lajovic said. “I always wanted to do this as my job.”

Little did Lajovic know that two decades later he’d be representing his country at the highest of levels on one of tennis’ biggest stages. The 29-year-old has won four of his five matches at the inaugural ATP Cup, helping lead Serbia to Sunday’s championship match.

Throughout the tournament, Serbian fans have turned out in force, in both Brisbane and Sydney, to support their countrymen. On Saturday, Serbian flags flew throughout Ken Rosewall Arena, with some fans even holding signs that read DULE, Lajovic’s nickname.

The 2019 Umag champion has performed tremendously under that spotlight. He hasn’t shied away from the moment, instead conjuring some of his best tennis. But at heart, Lajovic claims he is an introvert, so he’s still getting used to competing in such hair-raising environments.

“[I’m] still not as comfortable as somebody else would be. But I’m working on myself and trying to be aware of what’s going on and understand the situation,” Lajovic said. “I think that this week, especially here in Sydney, I would also say that I’m a different player from Brisbane and here. I got used to it a little bit with the atmosphere and everything. And I’m enjoying the court, especially in the moments where you’re fighting for every point like today. This is what you play tennis for.”

The 6’ right-hander recently took a personality test based off the work of psychologist Carl Jung, and got interesting results.

“I’m an architect, which is like [a] 90 per cent introverted person,” Lajovic said. “All the persons with this personality are scientists or professors or stuff like that. There are not so many athletes.

“So with my personality, it’s weird being a professional athlete. But I think it came out great. I’m really grateful that I’m able to do the job that I love since I was a kid. For example, you’ve got to put things in perspective, I think. And then if you ask kids, ‘What do you want to be?’ I don’t think that many of them say accountant or whatever. So you have the privilege to do something that you wanted to do as a kid, and I think this is a big benefit for the whole life.”

Lajovic was not a top junior, reaching a career-best junior ranking of No. 132. During his late teens, he did not have much financial support, so Lajovic considered going to college instead of turning professional.

“I had a very interesting meeting and conversation with my parents and they said, ‘Look, if this is what you want to do, we’ll do whatever it takes for us to help you and support you.’ I’m always grateful for them that they were doing this for me because sometimes it’s hard when you don’t see the future and you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Lajovic said. “But I’m happy that I was able to make them proud and succeed and be in this profession where I am today.”

Not only is Lajovic a professional athlete, but he is a role model for his entire country. World No. 2 Djokovic is widely viewed as a national hero, but according to Milan Vuckovic, a Serbian tennis fan in attendance on Saturday at the ATP Cup who moved to Australia when he was four and a half, Lajovic’s efforts during this event rival those of Djokovic’s, with both earning points for their country.

“[He’s] very important. He represents the country, so [he’s] definitely important,” Vuckovic said. “He’s an opening player, so he represents from the first starting match. It means a lot to get up front straight up. He’s only sort of come about in the past five years, but everyone is really starting to recognise him, so it’s good that people outside of Serbia are also recognising him and that he’s representing the country.”

That’s something that means a lot to Lajovic. He first broke into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings nearly six years ago, so he has been an elite player for years. But the ATP Cup is giving him a massive platform to show the world how good he is, and to do it for his country, too.

“That’s great. I’m probably not aware of that still, but if there is at least one kid that’s looking up to me, that’s great. If there are more, even better,” Lajovic said. “I’m trying to be the best person off the court as well as on the court. I hope that they can see those qualities as well, not just tennis. That’s what life is all about.”

Lajovic has helped push his country to within one tie victory of lifting the inaugural ATP Cup trophy. And while Djokovic has gotten plenty of attention for wins over the likes of Kevin Anderson, Denis Shapovalov and Daniil Medvedev, the World No. 2 praised his countryman Lajovic for his tremendous play.

“So proud, and I want to give him a huge credit for what he has done in this competition so far. He’s won all of his matches except one, and the one he lost was in tight three sets,” Djokovic said. “His level is getting higher and higher as the competition progresses, which is so good to see him [do]. I mean, as a friend and someone that has followed his development for many years and to see him playing this well is fantastic.

“I’m enjoying it, and I’m also thankful, because I have been coming into most of my matches with 1-0 rather than 0-1. So it’s a huge relief obviously. We have been clinching all of our ties except one match after singles, which is a huge advantage.”

Lajovic will walk into Ken Rosewall Arena with one more singles match to go against either Team Australia or Team Spain. Either way, it’s another opportunity for the No. 2 Serbian to perform in front of the raucous Sydney crowds, and do his part in helping secure a trophy.

“It’s a great feeling, especially in the tough moments when they give you the energy and the support,” Lajovic said. “It makes you more pumped and, I would say, ready for the moment, like you are feeling the pressure, but somehow they are giving you the strength.”

Jannik Sinner spent part of his off-season getting his driver’s license, but the reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion handled a different type of vehicle on Saturday when he sailed the Auckland Harbour ahead of the ASB Classic.

”I think it’s beautiful in Auckland. It’s the first time for me here and the sea and the views are wonderful. Hopefully I can go far in the tournament,” Sinner said. “The opportunity to get out on the harbour and sail a bit is really cool. The boat is very big and it’s a special feeling to be out here.

”I just got my driving license a month ago and this is a little bit bigger. I usually prefer swimming pools over the sea, so it’s nice to be on the boat rather than in the water!”

The 18-year-old Italian looks to build on his rapid rise last year that saw him climb more than 450 spots in the FedEx ATP Rankings to his current career-high standing of No. 78. His season highlights included prevailing in the year-end Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan (d. De Minaur), reaching his maiden tour-level semi-final in Antwerp and scoring his first ATP Masters 1000 win on home soil in Rome. Sinner also won three ATP Challenger Tour titles.

”Our first goal this year is to improve day after day. We improved a lot of things in my game, especially my serve,” Sinner said. “The best week last year was, of course, Milan. It was a special week playing in front of the home crowd. I think I handled the increased pressure very well. I also look forward to traveling to new cities this season and having chances to see a bit more off the court.”   

Sinner will begin his Auckland campaign against fifth-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire.