ATP Cup previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Basilashvili, Thiem vs. Coric

Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem will be among those in action when the inaugural ATP Cup continues with Day 2. Nadal and the Spaniards are facing Georgia, while Thiem’s Austrian side is going up against Croatia.

Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO)

Nadal capped off his brilliant 2019 campaign by leading Spain to the Davis Cup title. Less than two months later, the world No. 1 is back in a team competition. This time it is the inaugural ATP Cup in Australia, where the Spanish squad is going up against Georgia on Saturday.

The head-to-head series between Nadal and Basilashvili stands at 3-0 in the former’s favor. Twice the Georgia has won only a single game, as he got blown out 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 at the 2017 French Open and 6-1, 6-0 last year in Rome. Basilashvili’s lone hard-court effort against Nadal was a much better one, resulting in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4 scoreline at the 2018 U.S. Open. Something in between those two extremes should be expected for this one, and there is certainly no reason to think a red-hot Nadal has any chance of losing.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games

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Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs. Borna Coric (CRO)

Thiem and Coric will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when Austria battles Croatia on Saturday. Three of their four previous encounters have gone Thiem’s way and they have split two hard-court meetings. Their most recent showdown came at the end of 2018, when Thiem prevailed 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 at the Paris Masters.

The world No. 4 should be feeling great heading into 2020, as his stellar 2019 season concluded with a runner-up finish at the Nitto ATP Finals. Coric, on the other hand, slumped to 28th in the rankings and he ended this past year on a disastrous six-match losing streak. All signs point to Thiem taking care of business without too much trouble.

Pick: Thiem in 2

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