ATP Cup Final HIGHLIGHTS: Rafael Nadal’s Spain lost to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia in the final of the ATP Cup at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney on Sunday. Serbia came from behind to defeat Spain with Novak Djokovic starring in both his singles and doubles matches. Djokovic beat Nadal 6-2, 7-6(4) in the second match of the day after Roberto Bautista Agut beat Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 6-1 in the first match of the tie. Djokovic then paired up with Victor Troicki and defeated Feliciano Lopez and Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4.
Lajovic also enters the final with confidence, following his straight-sets victory against Karen Khachanov. World No. 34, who owns a 4-1 record at this event, will be aiming to record his first win against Bautista Agut in their fourth ATP clash. If Lajovic can break new ground, he will hand Djokovic the opportunity to capture the title for Serbia against Nadal. Following the two singles encounters, Nadal and Djokovic will both return to the court in what could prove to be a winner-takes-all doubles contest. Nadal will partner Pablo Carreno Busta in the final match of the tournament, with the Spaniards own a 2-0 record as a pair in this event. Djokovic will join forces with Viktor Troicki, who has secured wins in four of his five matches at the ATP Cup.
Nadal and Djokovic will meet for the 55th time in their ATP head-to-head series (Djokovic leads 28-26) in the tie’s second match, when one player will be able to clinch the title for their team. Nadal has been impressed by the form of his great rival in the build-up to their latest encounter. Djokovic owns a perfect 6-0 record at the ATP Cup so far.
Nadal secured a comeback victory against Australia’s Alex De Minaur in the semi-final. The world’s top-ranked player was ambushed early by the young Australian, who threatened to run away with the match, before the Spaniard recovered to win 4-6 7-5 6-1. Earlier in the evening, Roberto Bautista Agut played a near flawless match to defeat a misfiring Nick Kyrgios 6-1 6-4, giving Spain an unassailable lead going into the doubles match.
In the other semi-final, world number two Novak Djokovic played tactical tennis to overcome the enigmatic Daniil Medvedev in a tight three-set match, which secured Serbia’s place in the final. The Serbian won the contest 6-1 5-7 6-4 after he found success pushing the 198cm (6.5 ft) tall Russian around the court, forcing Medvedev to constantly scrape shots off his shoelaces. Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic beat his more highly ranked opponent, Russia’s Karen Khachanov, giving Serbia an unassailable 2-0 lead going into the doubles match.
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