Andy Murray given Sydney wildcard before Australian Open
Britain’s Andy Murray will continue his Australian Open preparations by competing in the Sydney Tennis Classic for the first time.
Britain’s Andy Murray will continue his Australian Open preparations by competing in the Sydney Tennis Classic for the first time.
Roberto Bautista Agut clinched Spain’s place in the ATP Cup championship match on Friday evening with a thrilling 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(5) victory against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. Russia and Canada will meet on Saturday to earn the other spot in the final.
Two years ago, Bautista Agut played a critical role at No. 2 singles (6-0) during his country’s run to the final, which Serbia won. The 33-year-old has again been flawless this edition, winning all four of his matches at No. 1 singles to lead the way for the two-time finalists.
“It’s a match that I will always remember. I think both of us could get the win today. He also really deserved a lot of good things. But this is our game, this is tennis,” Bautista Agut said. “Today I was the one who got the win. I think I also deserved it. I did a lot of good things on the court.”
Hurkacz was desperate to keep his country’s hopes alive and he played tremendous tennis inside Ken Rosewall Arena, saving five match points with gutsy shotmaking. But Bautista Agut was relentless, eventually emerging victorious after a high-quality two hours and 44 minutes.
“Sometimes you get the win on the first [match] point. He played two or three lines in a row, but sometimes you stay focussed like today, you keep working and finally you lose the tie-break,” Bautista Agut said. “But today I kept working and I got the win.”
The Sydney crowd roared in support of Hurkacz at 4-5 Ad Out when he hit a terrific low backhand volley to save the first match point he faced and there was another eruption later in the game after Bautista Agut missed a difficult forehand passing shot into the net on his second opportunity.
Another missed chance for Bautista Agut two games later added to the tension in the air. Hurkacz continued to fight until the end, saving two more match points in the tie-break. But the Spaniard finally brought the thriller to a close with a curling crosscourt forehand passing shot, which ‘Hubi’ volleyed into the net.
“I played really aggressive at the end of the match. Maybe a bit more aggressive in the tie-break than on the match points, but I ended the tie-break with a good passing shot,” Bautista Agut said. “He was playing unbelievable volleys, so I’m really happy about the win of today.”
Hurkacz, a 2021 Nitto ATP Finals competitor, delivered 24 aces to just one for his opponent. He also showed great courage in rushing the net under pressure. But Bautista Agut was a wall on the biggest points. His elation showed after clinching the victory, with a look of great relief on his face.
The Pole was 6-0 in ATP Cup singles play entering the final. Hurkacz helped his team to its best performance in event history.
Earlier Friday in the No. 2 singles, Pablo Carreno Busta gave his country the advantage with a 6-2, 6-1 win against Jan Zielinski. Kamil Majchrzak went 3-0 for Poland in the group stages, but was forced into isolation due to a positive Covid-19 test and was unable to compete.
Did You Know?
Bautista Agut has been dominant in his first tournament of the season over the past six years. Since the beginning of 2017, the Spaniard has gone 20-3 — including 11-2 at the ATP Cup — in his first event of the year.
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov saved two match points on Friday for a place in the semi-finals at the Melbourne Summer Set.
Having run through the second set, third seed Dimitrov fell to 2-5 in the decider against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, before a thrilling finale and a 6-7(5), 6-0, 7-5 win over two hours and 45 minutes. Van de Zandschulp served for the match at 5-3, 40/15 in the third set, and later got broken at 5-5 in a 24-point game.
Dimitrov, who is seeking the ninth ATP Tour trophy of his career, now challenges American qualifier Maxime Cressy for the first time.
World No. 112 Cressy booked a place in his first ATP Tour semi-final by striking 10 aces to knock out Jaume Munar of Spain 7-6(3), 6-4 in two hours and 25 minutes. Cressy saved two matches points in the third-set tie-break of his Melbourne second-round win over fellow American and second seed Reilly Opelka on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori set up a clash against top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal, following a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Alex Molcan of Slovakia in 68 minutes.
Nick Kyrgios returns to the ATP Tour for the first time in almost four months at the Sydney Tennis Classic, which begins on 10 January. The Australian, who hasn’t played since the Laver Cup in September 2021, will join Aslan Karatsev and former World No. 1 Andy Murray at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.
Murray, who has been awarded a wild card, said, “I’m looking forward to playing in Sydney for the first time and continuing my preparation for the Australian Open. I’ve heard great things about Sydney. It’s a pretty cool city.”
The 34-year-old Briton watched from the stands on Thursday as Great Britain defeated United States 2-1 in its final Group C tie at the ATP Cup. Roberto Bautista Agut, Taylor Fritz and Daniel Evans who all competed at the ATP Cup, will also play in Sydney at the ATP 250 tournament.
The women’s singles draw will feature 19 of the Top 30 in the WTA Rankings, including World No. 1 Ash Barty, Garbine Muguruza, Barbora Krejcikova, Simona Halep, Iga Swiatek, Sofia Kenin, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez. Australians Ajla Tomljanovic and Astra Sharma have been awarded singles wild cards.
Pablo Carreno Busta put Spain on the brink of its second ATP Cup final on Friday evening with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Poland’s Jan Zielinski.
Kamil Majchrzak went 3-0 at No. 2 singles for Poland in Group D action, helping his country make it this far. But the 25-year-old announced earlier Friday he had tested positive for Covid-19, forcing him out of the competition and into health protocols, including isolation.
“When you expect to play against one player and at the last moment they change it, [it is tough]. They were unlucky, so sorry about that,” Carreno Busta said. “But I had to do my tennis, my job and I think that I played really good, [I was] very focussed on my game. It’s important to always be one up [for the team].”
Zielinski stepped in for the biggest match of his life, but he had never previously played a tour-level singles match. The doubles standout was unable to put pressure on Carreno Busta, who remained solid in his 54-minute triumph.
The World No. 20 has been on big stages plenty throughout his career, and that experience showed on Ken Rosewall Arena. Zielinski earned roars from the crowd in the match’s final moments with flashy winners, but it was not enough to mount a serious comeback.
Carreno Busta protected his serve — he did not face a break point — to move to 4-0 at this year’s event. The former World No. 10 has not lost a set at this year’s ATP Cup.
“It’s very important at the beginning of the year always [to find] the rhythm, for the confidence,” Carreno Busta said. “I’m happy about this tournament, I’m playing really good,” Carreno Busta said. “I’m feeling very comfortable here in Australia, in Sydney on this court. I would like to continue this way.”
Roberto Bautista Agut can close out the tie and seal his country’s second berth in the ATP Cup final with a win against 2021 Nitto ATP Finals competitor Hubert Hurkacz. In 2020, Spain lost in the championship match in Sydney against Serbia.
“Now we have to continue. We have two more matches,” Carreno Busta said. “Hurkacz against Roberto is a really close match, really tough, so we’ll see. In any case I need to be ready for doubles.”
As Novak Djokovic faces possible deportation, the Australian Open draw is cast into more uncertainty.
The BBC’s Ros Atkins looks at the twists and turns of the row over the tennis star’s cancelled visa.
Novak Djokovic’s vaccine exemption situation before the Australian Open is the latest controversy for one of tennis’ greatest but most polarising players.
Friday’s ATP Cup semi-final against Spain is another stop on a decades-long journey for Team Poland. World No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz spoke of the long-standing friendships within the camp following Wednesday’s crucial 3-0 win over Argentina that sealed top spot in Group D. “It’s great doing it for our country. Kamil [Majchrzak], Jan [Zielinski], Szymon [Walkow] and Kacper [Zuk], we all saw each other at junior tournaments in Poland in small towns where it was 0°C, and now we are here.”
Hurkacz is especially familiar with No. 2 singles player Majchrzak and has not been surprised by the World No. 117’s strong performances in beating Michail Pervolarakis 6-1, 6-4, Aleksandre Bakshi 6-1, 6-1 and Federico Delbonis 6-3, 7-6(3).
“I don’t remember my first meeting with Kamil, we were probably like nine years old, maybe 10, something like this,” said Hurkacz. “Actually, I never managed to win against him. We’ve all come on that journey, and we are here in the semi-finals right now, so it really means a lot to us.”
Majchrzak himself was glad to redress a painful personal ATP Cup memory after the match against Delbonis. “Two years ago, I got injured after playing against Argentina,” said Majchrzak. “So I wanted to do well, I wanted to do better this year and I did.”
Majchrzak’s singles opponent on Friday evening, Team Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, is not focusing on the past ahead of the semi-final. The pair’s only previous meeting was a 6-1, 6-1 victory for the Pole at a 2015 ATP Challenger Tour event in Morocco. “I know I’m a better player than six years ago,” Carreno Busta said. “I suppose he is too, but I’ve had a lot of good results since, and now I’m feeling more comfortable than earlier in my career.”
Carreno Busta has certainly shown this week why he now sits at No. 20 in the ATP Rankings, defeating Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 7-6(4), Viktor Durasovic 6-3, 6-3 and Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-4.
World No. 19 Roberto Bautista Agut faces Hurkacz in the No. 1 singles match, but the Spaniard is refusing to draw any conclusions from the 2-0 ATP Head2Head lead he currently holds over his opponent. The pair has not met since 2020 and Bautista Agut doesn’t think his good record against the big-serving Pole will affect their meeting on Friday night. “He’s a better player now, so I think I have to focus on me, on my game,” said Bautista Agut. “If I do my things well, I will have chances to win the match.”
Bautista Agut is hoping to maintain his fine form from the group stage, where he did not drop a set in defeating Cristian Garin 6-0, 6-3, World No. 8 Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-6(4) and Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-4. He has also been impressed with the performances of his teammates. “I think we have to be very happy,” said Bautista Agut, “I think the level on the court, [highlighted] that we showed up every day and the way that we won the matches was good.”
Neither team has lost a tie at the 2022 ATP Cup thus far, and both hold 8-1 match records with just a solitary doubles loss each. Team Spain has the semi-final experience, but will be especially wary of Hurkacz, who now holds a 6-0 career record in ATP Cup singles after beating Aristotelis Thanos 6-1, 6-2, Aleksandre Metreveli 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1 and Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-4 this week.
“We need to think carefully that we can do it,” said Bautista Agut on Team Spain’s chances, “We have a very good team, and if we continue like today, we have a big chance to win.”
Pablo Carreno Busta helped guide Team Spain out of Group A at ATP Cup this week with wins over Alejandro Tabilo, Viktor Durasovic and Filip Krajinovic.
Ahead of Spain’s semi-final against Team Poland in Sydney, the 30-year-old spoke to ATP Tour.com on the different qualities his teammates possess, the Spanish scenery, the importance his home town Gijon played in his early development and more.
Which teammate’s shot would you like to add to your game?
Probably the drop shot of Pedro Martinez, because I think he plays it unbelievably [well]. When he needs to change something in the game he uses the drop shot and I think he does it really well.
The serve of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina because I think of all of us he has the best serve. The consistency of Roberto Bautista Agut because from the baseline he can play with no mistakes and I think it’s very, very tough to beat him. The left-handedness of Albert Ramos-Vinolas because he’s the lefty on the team and I think he’s playing really well. When Albert has his forehand, he tries to dominate.
Who do you enjoy practicing with on Team Spain?
I think that everybody on the team are good players to practise with because they’re very solid, they have a lot of rhythm. Maybe Bautista because he’s the best on the team and one of the best players to practise with.
Describe in just a few words the different personalities within your team?
Maybe Alex [Alejandro] and Pedro are the youngest on the team and they are the funniest. Maybe Roberto and Albert are fathers and they are different personalities, but also they are very friendly. We are all great friends and we enjoy our time together. We love to play these kind of competitions on a team. I am very comfortable with these guys.
You and your teammates bond here, but you also spend a lot of time together throughout the season. How important is that for you this week?
Yes, of course it’s very nice. It’s very nice for us to play as a team, but also when we play normal ATP Tour tournaments, we are not partners. We talk, we spend a lot of time together, we have dinners together. It’s so nice to have these guys on the Tour.
Tell me about your first tennis club?
I started to play in my hometown in the north of Spain. It is probably not the best place to play in Spain because of the weather, but I think that it was very important to me to start there. It made my personality stronger.
When I was 15 I went to Barcelona to the Mediterranean coast. That’s the best place to practise because it’s unbelievable there. After that I started to know about tennis, know how everything works and how I can play on my [best] level. Now I’m practising in Alicante, which is also on the Mediterranean.
I’m enjoying when I practise. I’m very close to Roberto, also very close to Pedro and sometimes we practise together. It’s very comfortable.
Tell me three things you love about your country?
I love the Spanish food. It’s tough to say what because we have a lot of good food. But probably something from my hometown, a good cheese or fabada. I also love the weather, because we have good weather 11 months of the year if you are on the Mediterranean coast. Then I think the atmosphere. The people are very friendly and they are always smiling!
What is your favourite place to visit in your country and why?
I think that we have different places. If you go to the north of Spain you can see the mountains, you can also watch the sea. The weather is different. If you go to the south of Spain you can go to the beaches, you have the sun and can enjoy the summer. If you go to the Mediterranean coast you have everything. I think Spain you can find everything that you can hope for. It’s nice to be there.