The 4th day of the ATP cup again was witness to some great matches. Two of the greatest players Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic took to court as did the rising superstars like Dominic Thiem and Hubert Hurkacz. Let’s look back at the recap of the day on all 3 venues of the tournament.
South Africa Beat Chile 3-0
In Brisbane the day session started with Lloyd Harris of South Africa beating Nicolás Jarry of Chile in straight sets. The South Africa’s star player Kevin Anderson defeated Cristian Garín in another straight set victory, even handing the Chilean a bagel in the 1st set.
South Africa maintained their firm hold on the contest by also winning the doubles match in 3 sets by the pair of Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse thus shining with a 3-0 victory and strengthening their chance of reaching the knockout stage of the tournament.
Serbia Beat France 2-1
The evening session in Brisbane was a heavyweight contest with two strong sides Serbia and France pitting up against each other. The French drew first blood with Benoit Paire beating Serbia’s Dušan Lajović in 3 sets. However Serbia’s most crucial player Novak Djokovic was determined to put his country on level terms and defeated Gaël Monfils in straight sets.
Novak then wore the doubles hat also partnering Viktor Troicki and beat the French pair of Nicolas Mahut and Vasselin in 3 sets and thus winning the contest. Serbia hence booked their place in the quarter finals.
Japan Beat Georgia 2-1
In Perth Japan took on Georgia with Go Soeda giving his side the 1st advantage by defeating Georgia’s Aleksandre Metreveli in 3 sets. It was then followed by a dominating effort by Yoshihito Nishioka who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets.
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The Georgians however managed to avoid a clean sweep with the doubles pair of Aleksandre Bakshi and Zura Tkemaladze beating Japan’s Toshihide Matsui and Ben McLachlan in 2 straight sets.
Spain Beat Uruguay 3-0
In the evening session in Perth Uruguay were pitted against the tournament favorites Spain. The 1st match itself was the microcosm of the contest with Roberto Bautista Agut defeating the 19 year old Franco Roncadelle.
It then went forward with the great Rafael Nadal defeating Pablo Cuevas in another straight set match. It was an all Spanish affair as the mighty side won the double contest also in straight sets with Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano López doing the honors and Spanish side booking themselves a quarter final ticket.
Croatia Beat Poland 2-1
In the third venue Sidney, Croatia were up against Poland. The Croats started well with Marin Cilic who is slowly regaining his form beating Kacper Zuk in straight sets. Poland however was quick to level the contest with their star player Hubert Hurkacz beating Borna Coric in 2 convincing sets.
It was then left to the doubles match to decide the fate of the contest. The Croatian pair of Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic defeated the Poles Hurkacz and Kubot is 2 sets and thus avoided a scare. Croatia are now still alive with a chance to qualify knockout stage.
Austria Beat Argentina 2-1
The night session in Sydney was a battle of the heavyweight teams. Denis Novak gave Austria an early advantage by winning the 1st match in 3 sets even after getting a bagel in the 1st set against Guido Pella. The 2nd match was a battle of the top players Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman. The Austrian Thiem would prevail in 2 tight sets and finally get back to winning ways. Argentine doubles pair of Gonzalez and Molteni won the doubles match and thus avoided a whitewash.