Reigning Davis Cup champion Spain made a perfect start to its inaugural ATP Cup campaign on Saturday in Perth. It was an unsurprising one, too, as the Spaniards were heavy favorites against an overmatched Georgia squad.
Roberto Bautista Agut got things started with a virtual walkover, easing past world No. 679 Aleksandre Metreveli 6-0, 6-0. Rafael Nadal followed suit with a much tougher matchup but managed to hold off Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 7-5.
Spain also took the doubles rubber, with Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez picking up a straight-set victory.
“It [was a] positive victory, of course, for me and for the team,” Nadal commented. “3-0, a good start to the competition.”
“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, who eventually twice broke back with Nadal serving for the match. “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.”
Croatia, Serbia, France, and Argentina were other winners on Day 2. The Croats were led by Borna Coric’s 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 upset of Dominic Thiem. That clinched the tie, as it was preceded by a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 victory for Marin Cilic over Dennis Novak. Novak Djokovic beat Kevin Anderson 7-6(5), 7-6(6) as Serbia took care of South Africa, and France rode Gael Monfils and Benoit Paire to win at Chile’s expense.
“(I’m) very happy,” Coric assured. “I was not coming into this match with lots of confidence. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, if I’m going to play [well] or not. But I was playing really good tennis. Even though [I lost] the second set, I felt I was playing good tennis, honestly. It’s just that he was playing too good. And then in the third set, I just found that on important points I was playing really brave–and in the end it paid off.”
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