Nadal Fights For Team Spain; Bautista Agut Also Wins In Perth

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal opened his 2020 ATP Tour season with a win to help Team Spain clinch its opening tie against Team Georgia on Saturday night at the inaugural ATP Cup.

Tennis fans turned out in force, waving Spanish flags for Nadal’s first appearance in Perth at the RAC Arena. But the 33-year-old Mallorcan didn’t have things all his own way against Nikoloz Basilashvili, but came through 6-3, 7-5 victory in one hour and 50 minutes.

“It has been positive victory, of course, for me and for the team — 3-0, a good start to the competition,” said Nadal.

“I had the match under control, 5-2 against a good player like Nikoloz. It has been a positive start. Obviously, he played some good games. I made a couple of mistakes, then the match became more difficult. That is it.”

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.

While Nadal was broken in the first game, the Spaniard soon settled and was barely troubled thereafter, until Basilashvili stepped inside the baseline at 2-5 in the second set, to rip two groundstroke winners.

The Georgian, who reached a career-high No. 16 in the FedEx ATP Rankings last year, carried the momentum to recover to 5-5, with Nadal hitting a forehand long when serving for the set for a second time. Basilashvili, now playing on the baseline, was soon dragged wide in rallies as Nadal adopted a new plan.

Ultimately, Nadal refocused and Basilashvili dropped his serve with a backhand error. The World No. 1 soon wrapped up the 68-minute set for his fourth straight win over the 27-year-old Georgian.

“I think I was okay physically at the end of the first set, and then I got cramps a bit at the start of the second set,” said Basilashvili. “In general, I think it was a good match. I really enjoyed it and the court is really nice atmosphere here. Today, I can say many positive things, but obviously playing with Rafa is physically very demanding. I had to put in 100 per cent, and some moments in the beginning of second set I start cramping, but then somehow I recovered a little bit.”

When asked whether he was disappointed not to hold serve at 5-5 in the second set, having come back from 2-5 down, Basilashvili admitted, “I couldn’t really make first serves in general in the whole match, but especially in that moment. I was kind of disappointed. I wanted to win this game a lot, but I could not really push. I could not go 100 per cent on the serve, because I also had elbow surgery last year.”

Nadal clinched year-end No. 1 for the fifth time last year, winning 58 of his 65 matches and lifting four tour-level titles, including a 12th Roland Garros (d. Thiem), a fourth US Open (d. Medvedev) and ATP Masters 1000 crowns at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (d. Djokovic) and the Coupe Rogers in Montreal (d. Medvedev).

In the first singles match, Roberto Bautista Agut powered his way to victory. The World No. 9 swept past Aleksandre Metreveli of Team Georgia 6-0, 6-0 over 72 minutes in the first singles match of the Group B clash.

“It was a great match and a great start to the tournament,” said Bautista Agut. “I did not have information about him, but I did ask some players who knew him before and had some ideas. I did not see him play. I focused on my game and I knew it was important to start with a break. I wanted to get the advantage. It was good to make the break in the second game. Every match counts and I was to playing full on until the very end.”

Metreveli battled hard throughout, particularly in his first service game that lasted 16 minutes and 22 points, only for Bautista Agut to turn the screw and earn the first break. The 31-year-old ran through the first set in 41 minutes, converting his third set point — and also breaking Metreveli’s serve for a third time — with a crosscourt forehand winner. Metreveli, the No. 2-ranked Georgian, gained his first break point in the first game of the second set, but Bautista Agut fired down a powerful serve and went on to take a 2-0 lead.

Last year, Bautista Agut broke into the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings on 19 August, compiled a 42-22 match record and lifted one ATP Tour title at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (d. Berdych).

Team Spain completed a 3-0 victory when Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez, a replacement for Nadal, combined to beat Team Georgia’s Aleksandre Bakshi and George Tsivadze 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles match. Carreno Busta and Lopez, who are 7-1 as a team, won the 2016 China Open title in Beijing.

“It is amazing to start 3-0,” said Team Spain captain Francisco Roig. “Roberto played great match. I think even if it looks easy match, the result was much difficult than what it was… He made very few mistakes.

“Then Rafa had the chance against a very tough opponent like Basilashvili, who always kills the ball. I think after five, six games, he was in control of the game. Then, as [Nadal] said, he had the match in his hands. Pity he missed a volley, [it] could have been 6-3, 6-2. At the end, well, it would have been better to win easy, but also, when you have these situations, it gives you a little bit more experience, experience on these days.”