Grigor Dimitrov has delivered in a big way for his country in the early moments of Saturday morning, forcing a deciding doubles match to determine the winner between his Team Bulgaria and Team Great Britain on the first day of the inaugural ATP Cup.

Dimitrov beat Daniel Evans 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in an entertaining all-court affair that ended at 12:10am local time in Sydney. Bulgaria’s No. 1 singles player and captain could now elect to return to Ken Rosewall Arena for the doubles match.

The eight-time ATP Tour titlist entered his match with Evans with a 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against the Brit, whom he defeated in straight sets in Chengdu last September. But in the early going, the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion struggled to find a rhythm against the slicing and dicing off Evans’ racquet.

However, Dimitrov never dipped his head in his first match of the season, blasting away on the backhand side, creating a highlight reel of one-handed lasers. And after two hours and 16 minutes, Dimitrov earned the victory when Evans mishit a volley.

In the tie’s No. 2 singles match, Cameron Norrie beat Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to give Team Great Britain a 1-0 lead.

Norrie first played Kuzmanov at a Futures event in 2014, losing just two games. The lefty didn’t have it anywhere near as easy Friday evening in Sydney, but he got the job done nonetheless.

“It was a tough match. It’s the first match of the year. So, yeah, I came out playing great. It was a real physical first set, and then literally one little lapse in concentration, and then I was down a break and he actually played solid. I didn’t really have any chances in the second,” Norrie said. “Obviously there were a couple doubts in the second, but no, I was actually real happy with the way I competed and the way I carried myself.”

The difference in the match was Norrie’s success with his swinging lefty serve, helping him win 83 per cent of his first-serve points en route to a two-hour victory. He broke serve six times, including on four occasions in the third set.

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Interestingly Norrie won his lowest rate of first-serve points in the final set (69%), but he improved his return pressure, winning 74 per cent of his return points in the decider.

The 24-year-old Norrie enjoyed the best season of his young career in 2019, breaking into the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings in March before reaching a career-high No. 41 in May. And with his triumph against Kuzmanov, the Brit appears poised for a fast start once again.

Tennis fans attending the ATP Cup in Brisbane, Perth or Sydney, or tuning in globally to coverage may be struck by the number of breaks with tradition at the 2020 ATP Tour season opener.

One such innovation is Team Zones, positioned in the corners of the three stadium courts, bringing a highly visibly support team to each player, with captain, players and even coaching all working together in support of the star stepping between the lines.

Teams competing across the three Australian cities on Friday welcomed the addition, replacing traditional benches located by the umpire’s chair, and the real-time statistics, data, insights and match vision on offer in the Team Zone.

“In ATP tournaments normally you cannot even communicate with your coach, you’re by yourself and thinking by yourself,” said Karen Khachanov, who looked at real-time statistics with captain Marat Safin when representing Team Russia in Perth. “You’re trying to analyse what’s going on and here you have your whole team behind you, your personal coach, captain. The stats enable you to talk about every point and I think it’s a really good addition.”

John Isner, competing for Team United States at the RAC Arena in Perth, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, who won for Team Canada on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane on Friday, welcomed the addition of being closer to coaches and team mates.

“I thought it was different walking to the other side of the court, but I liked it,” said Isner. “I think the concept out there is very cool and very unique. I think every player’s enjoying it, I enjoy playing on a team. When you play on a team, it’s awesome when you win and help your team out, but it stinks when you lose.”

“You hear more people behind your back, so it’s a different feeling,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I personally like this feeling. It’s good to have teammates cheering you on and it’s exciting.”

“As soon as they have something or they saw something that they want to share with me, it will could be said straight away,” said David Goffin of Team Belgium. “It’s going to be fun. Also, to have them just really close from the baseline, because it’s in the two corners. So it’s going to be nice.”

For Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is currently No. 6 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, bringing Team Greece to Brisbane for the ATP Cup experience is something positive for his players.

The World No. 6 said: “Surely I cannot picture anything better than this right now. There hasn’t been an event which draws so much attention like the ATP Cup. For me, it’s an extra honour to be sharing the court with and giving the opportunity to my fellow tennis players from the same country and giving me the opportunity to witness this and play in a big stage. The ATP Cup was No. 1 priority for me when it was announced.”

Denis Shapovalov, who beat Tsitsipas in Group F on Friday for Team Canada, said: “It’s just an unbelievable feeling and obviously tournaments like this are just so much fun. And I think for the fans it’s so much more fun as well, because it gets so loud and they really get more into it. So I think it’s great for everyone.”

Team Norway captain Christian Ruud, who helped his son Casper Ruud to save two match points in victory over Isner in Perth on Friday, welcomed the statistical insight, but was cautious about relying on it too much.

“We were looking at mostly where John served, but it’s always difficult with statistics,” said Christian Ruud. “He was serving a lot wide in the Ad court, then served four aces down the T. So we were hoping on big points he was going wide, but then he changes his rhythm. So it’s a little hard to read. But the opponent can also see what Casper is trying to do. It’s a useful tool, but it can also confuse you. Casper got angry with me, because I told him that Isner was serving a lot wide, then he served down the T. So I stopped looking at it for a few games and you have to get the feel for what’s coming. You can’t always look at statistics because you have to play the ball and every ball is different.”

After recording the biggest win of his career, Casper Ruud said: “It was a fun thing to do to try out and credit to the ATP for trying something new out, as tennis has been the same for many years. ATP is trying to make some small, slight chances. It’s not the biggest deal, but it’s nice to have your coach there. You get that team spirit feeling.”

When asked about the atmosphere in the Team Zone, Diego Schwartzman of Team Argentina, said: “It’s very nice, because every single part of the tournament we are enjoying a little bit more, with the players from Argentina, with our coaches. So everything I think has a plus, and it’s very nice for every single player in the team.”

“It’s a great idea,” said Team Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. “It’s going to be so much fun with all of the players here from Poland, and obviously with a coach being on the side trying to help me. So it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

With World No. 1 Rafael Nadal leading the way, Spain will begin their campaign in the inaugural ATP Cup against Georgia this Saturday in Perth. They have their sights set on reaching the Final Eight in Sydney and emerging victorious in the new team competition, which brings 24 countries together to open the 2020 season on the ATP Tour.

Captained by Francisco Roig, Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Feliciano Lopez and Albert Ramos-Vinolas will initially be bidding to come through Group B, which also includes Japan and Uruguay. In the build-up to Spain’s opener, the players spoke to ATPTour.com about their expectations of the ATP Cup and their chances at victory.

Nadal: We’re talking about a new competition that we’re all really excited about. Being able to share these days with teammates makes it a unique and special situation. We’ve always had a good understanding as a team. It personally makes me happy to start the 2020 season by sharing the ATP Cup with them.

Bautista Agut: It means a lot to me to be with the Spanish team here in Perth. I have dreamed of being in the group since I was little because of the atmosphere and spirit within the team. I think that’s what makes us truly special.

Carreno Busta: For me, being at the ATP Cup is also a good opportunity. But we are Spain and that means that I’m in the same team as the No. 1 and No. 9 in the [ATP Rankings], so there’s not much chance of me playing singles matches. Regarding the competition, I’m going to give my all. Training sessions this week will be essential to find some rhythm for the rest of the season.

Lopez: It’s a good chance for us to prepare well and be able to play in this new event, which will be a very positive thing. Playing in a team is different, but I really like it. [I like] being able to experience everything that happens throughout these days with with teammates I’ve known for many years. Let’s see if we have a little luck and things turn out well.

Bautista Agut: Hopefully we can do something significant this week. The team is ready to play well. Tennis is a very difficult sport, but team tournaments are even more so. That’s why they’re so special.

Nadal: We have to be ready to fight for everything. Our team is complete and if we’re all playing our best, we have a chance to do something significant. We have to work to find our best individual games.

Ramos-Vinolas. I’m very happy to be here, to have the opportunity to play in the ATP Cup with these great players. All of them are great champions. I know that maybe I won’t play many matches, but coming to Perth was a good idea in terms of the opportunity to prepare well for other tournaments. I hope to be able to enjoy the competition from the outside.

Lopez: We all have to be prepared so that if we have the opportunity to compete, we are at 100 per cent and can perform well.

Nadal: At the end of the day, we have to be honest with ourselves. What we have to achieve is for every individual to perform their best. That’s the basic principle of success. Of course, we want the atmosphere to be good, as it almost always has been in recent years. It helps you work with an energy that helps everyone be able to find that extra level we need.

Lopez: The good vibes among the team are fundamental, but Spain has had so much success because of the possible combinations available to us. It’s a blessing and an advantage that few other countries have.

Nadal: You have to keep an eye on the decisions that are made during the competition for doubles, resting… We’re lucky to have Francis here, who has been on the Tour for many years and knows us all very well. That’ll make decisions easier for him, which could be decisive in important moments in terms of our chances for victory.

Roig: It’s an honour to be captain of this team. Each one of them comes here after their pre-season and they are already prepared. As soon as we got to Perth, we tried to get the maximum out of each player. I think the team looks pretty good. I’m confident that we will continue to improve so that we are firing on all cylinders and things go well in the coming days.

Ahead of Spain’s first match at the ATP Cup on Saturday against Georgia in Group F action, team captain Francisco Roig shared his thoughts on getting the team ready for battle.

My experience as captain of the Spanish ATP Cup team after a few days in Perth has been very positive.

The main thing over these days has been organising the schedules for the training sessions because we have five players on the team. It’s something you have to start thinking about the day before. If you leave it until the night, you’re too late. You have to reserve the court time, manage the press side of things and the player obligations. We have everything scheduled, but you have to organise the training sessions for the five players and take each of their individual preferences into account.

It’s true that you don’t have to make many decisions later because the top two-ranked players have the right to play in singles and it’s up to them. The place where you can intervene is in the doubles, where there is more of an opportunity to play with a strategy.

We’ve trained really well and the atmosphere is very good, as it always is on the Spanish team. From day to day, the ATP Cup is similar to the team competitions we are familiar with, but it’s different than what we are used to on the ATP Tour, where everyone does their own thing. Some days we’ve gone to dinner together as a team, but on other days it’s depended on their individual schedules.

The reality is that we are well-prepared. On top of that, we have a favourable draw. We’re going to train for doubles tomorrow and the team is very excited to take to the court and play.

Even though I’m the captain, I’m also really going to rely on the players’ coaches, as we did this week in training sessions. Rafael Nadal is my player. With Roberto Bautista Agut, I’ll have his coach, Pepe Vendrell, by my side so I can tell him anything I might see. There will be a lot of communication because we’ll all be together on the bench.

There’s not long left now until our opener, so we’re going to play training matches today in competition conditions. One will be between Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez, and then another with Albert Ramos-Vinolas and [Russian] Teymuraz Gabashvili. These matches are very good because they are real matches with an umpire and ball boys.

I am fully confident that they will all be ready for when we start on Saturday against Georgia.

Taylor Fritz got Team United States off to a winning start on Friday morning against Team Norway at the inaugural ATP Cup in Perth.

The World No. 32 capitalised on early nerves from Viktor Durasovic of Team Norway for a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 62 minutes in Group D at the RAC Arena in Perth.

“I thought I played pretty well,” said Fritz. “I went out and I did everything that I told myself I needed to do: I made a lot of returns, played solid, take care of my serve. It was a pretty complete match.”

While Durasovic recovered from 0/40 in the opening game, Fritz soon broke for a 3-1 lead in the first set and saw a run of five straight games ended at 2-0 in the second set. Greater consistency proved to be the difference for Fritz, while No. 332-ranked Durasovic, who had played three Top 100 opponents in his career, rushed to end baseline rallies.

“There wasn’t too much frustration early on, because I didn’t do anything wrong. The first game he was 0/40 and hit some really good serves and shots. I knew I needed to keep coming up with chances, until he doesn’t come up with something on a break point.”

Durasovic admitted to nerves throughout, saying: “It was fun in one way, the whole atmosphere and playing on a nice court. But at the same time, I am disappointed as I wasn’t able to play at a level to compare myself. I definitely have mixed feelings. I was nervous from the beginning to the end.”

John Isner, the former No. 8 in the ATP Rankings, will now look to give Team United States an unassailable 2-0 lead against Team Norway when he faces Casper Ruud, who is coached by his father, Christian Ruud, in the second singles match.

The 24-team event is being played in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney from 3-12 January, with the Final Eight beginning on Thursday in Sydney.

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime couldn’t have envisioned a better start to his 2020 season. The 19-year-old #NextGenATP star steamrolled past Greece’s Michail Pervolarakis 6-1, 6-3 in the opening match of the inaugural ATP Cup in Brisbane on Friday morning.

The 24-team event is being played in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney from 3-12 January, with the Final Eight beginning on Thursday in Sydney. Auger-Aliassime, a three-time ATP Tour finalist in 2019, didn’t face a break point and dominated rallies with Pervolarakis, who was making his ATP Tour main draw debut.

The 23-year-old Greek turned pro last year and went 7-8 on the ATP Challenger Tour. Auger-Aliassime is looking to build on his breakout season that saw him finish the year at No. 21 in the year-end FedEx ATP Rankings.

Denis Shapovalov (Canada) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) will face off next in Pat Rafter Arena.

Every ace served at the ATP Cup, which kicks off today in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, will raise money to support people and communities across Australia affected by the devastating bushfires.

Each ace served across the 10-day tournament at all three venues will deliver $100 to the Australian Red Cross bushfire disaster relief and recovery efforts.

With more than 1500 aces expected to be served by singles and doubles players across both the group rounds and Final Eight in Sydney, the ATP Cup contribution is expected to exceed $150,000.

“Communities across the whole country have been devastated by the bushfire crisis and at this time of the year, with our events in full swing, tennis has a unique opportunity to support the relief and recovery efforts,” ATP Cup Tournament Director Tom Larner said.

“Most of the players are already keen to score aces and win a quick point, and having the chance to raise money for the bushfire appeal will give them that extra bit of motivation.

“As a sport we also believe it’s important to recognise the tremendous contribution made by our volunteer firefighters, emergency services workers and community volunteers who come from every walk of life. We know many of them are also members of our tennis family and this initiative is just one way we can acknowledge their selflessness and bravery.”

ATP Cup players have also started to get involved individually, with Team Australia’s Alex de Minaur, Nick Kyrgios, John Millman and John Peers all pledging personal donations for every ace they serve.

The ATP Cup kicks off on Friday 3 January at Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, RAC Arena in Perth and Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.

The fundraising initiative will be jointly funded by the ATP, Tennis Australia, Tennis New South Wales, Tennis Queensland and Tennis West.

Other fundraising opportunities across the summer of tennis will be announced soon. Donations can be directed to the Australian Red Cross bushfire disaster relief and recovery efforts here.

In the 2004 Roland Garros final, Gaston Gaudio came from two sets down to defeat Guillermo Coria in five sets for his lone Grand Slam championship. That day, an 11-year-old Diego Schwartzman was in Mar del Plata, where he was competing in a national junior tournament. The youngster watched in awe in the tennis club’s restaurant as Gaudio made his stunning comeback, dreaming of one day being in such a situation.

One of the opportunities the ATP Cup provides is for former stars like Gaudio to captain their countries, leading the current generation. So it’s a great scenario for Schwartzman, Guido Pella, Juan Ignacio Londero, Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez to learn from a player with plenty of experience on the sport’s biggest stages.

“It’s great for us. At the beginning we didn’t know how it was going to be, and right now we are enjoying. It’s a good relation for us,” Schwartzman said. “I think everyone is trying to learn [from] him as a coach, and we are trying to know what he wants us to do on court. For us, it’s really nice. We are enjoying what he’s doing with the team.”

Pella, Argentina’s No. 2 singles player, was 14 when Gaudio triumphed in Paris. Like Schwartzman, the lefty has a personal coach with him in Sydney — Jose Acasuso — who broke into the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings. But having Gaudio in the country’s corner is certainly a positive.

“He’s one of the most important tennis players in Argentina history, so it’s important for us to learn from him,” Pella said. “We are enjoying it a lot.”

Gaudio has plenty of confidence in his team, knowing that Schwartzman and Pella lead the way with ATP Rankings of No. 14 and No. 25, respectively. Pella is the highest-ranked No. 2 singles player in Sydney.

“We’re talking about professional guys, they know exactly what they have to do. Sometimes maybe I can help them in the way that I have been there for a couple of times and maybe trying to talk as a friend and in the way of the experience that I got,” Gaudio said. “So I think that the most important thing is to get along with them and be kind of friendly, and in that way things may always go easy.”

Gaudio won’t force a certain game plan on Argentina’s players. Instead, he plans on adapting, and using all the tools at his disposal to assist, including the advice of personal coaches.

“It depends on the situation of the moment of the match. I’m going to share the match with the coach, the personal coaches that they have, so it’s going to be easier for me this way,” Gaudio said. “You have to know exactly the right moment that you can say something to the players, because sometimes they’re getting [put under] too much pressure, and you have to be [able to find] the right timing to talk to them.

“But in this case, it’s going to be totally different, because I’m going to share the court with all the players and with the personal coach. So it’s going to be kind of easy.”

Gaudio knows the pressures his country’s stars will feel on Ken Rosewall Arena having been in that position during his playing career. But is it easier for him to watch as captain?

“It’s totally different. At the beginning, I thought it’s going to be easier, but it’s so much [more] difficult because when you are the one who is playing, you take your own decisions,” Gaudio said. “So you don’t depend on anybody. But me being from the outside trying to explain to someone to execute what I’m saying is actually pretty tough. It’s not easy.”

Team Argentina opens its campaign on Saturday against Team Poland.