By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, January 4, 2020
Rafael Nadal withstood hard-hitting Nikoloz Basilashvili and second-set turbulence closing a 6-3, 7-5 win to clinch Spain's ATP Cup triumph over Georgia at Perth's RAC Arena.
Photo credit: @ATP Cup
A swarm of Spanish flags and case of jet leg confronted Rafael Nadal in his 2020 opener.
The world No. 1 withstood hard-hitting Nikoloz Basilashvili and second-set turbulence closing a 6-3, 7-5 victory to clinch Spain's ATP Cup opening triumph over Georgia at Perth's RAC Arena.
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Five weeks after Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut scored singles wins to lead Spain to a 2-0 win over Canada in the Davis Cup final in Madrid, the pair were back at it imposing Spanish supremacy in Perth.
"We had a great experiences playing together on the team representing our country," Nadal said. "I always had fun playing not just for me and my team, but for the rest of the friends and for the country.
"It's always an extra motivation. We had a great experience a few weeks ago in Madrid winning the Davis Cup and now here we are again and we're' gonna try our best."
The US Open champion was happy to hit the ground running.
"Of course it seems like 2019 season didn't end yet," Nadal said afterward. "Everything too short, but I'm super, super happy to be here in Perth for the first time in my life.
"Amazing experience, one of the nicest arenas I ever played and great crowd so many thanks everybody for coming and supporting."
Repelling Basilashvili's baseline blasts with twisting topspin he angled into the corners, Nadal streaked out to a 6-3, 5-2 lead and was poised for a routine win.
Closure was complicated. Basilashvili broke twice in a row when Nadal served for the match at 5-2 and 5-4.
Undaunted, the 19-time Grand Slam champion converted his fifth break for a 6-5 lead. Nadal ran through eight of the final 10 points staking Spain to an insourmountable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three match Group B tie.
"Tough first match of the season," Nadal said. "Of course Nikoloz is a great player with great victories on tour. It's true I had the match under control with 6-3, 5-2 double-break lead. But then he played some good games and I had some mistakes.
"If you have a couple of mistakes against a player like him, you are in big trouble. Lucky I played a good game to be able to close it."
Roberto Bautista Agut annihilated Alexandre Metreveli dispensing a double bagel in just 72 minutes to open the tie. Bautista Agut broke six times and more than doubled Metreveli's point total (65 to 32).
The 24-team event is being contested in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney round-robin stages through January 12th.
The six winners of each group and the top two second-place finishers advance to the Final Eight beginning on Thursday in Sydney.