Tennis: Spain, Poland win 2nd consecutive matches at ATP Cup

Spain and Poland remained perfect at the ATP Cup with 3-0 wins in their latest matches on Monday, their second consecutive victories in the team event.

Robert Bautista Agut clinched the match for Spain by beating Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 7-6 after Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Viktor Durasovic 6-3, 6-3.

Bautista Agut improved to 9-2 in singles at the team event.

“Casper is playing unbelievable tennis, it was an unbelievable performance last year, and today I played very good,” Bautista Agut said. “I returned very well, I made very few unforced errors and I played aggressively.”

Kamil Majchrzak gave Poland the early lead over Georgia with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Aleksandre Bakshi before Hubert Hurkacz clinched it with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 win over Aleksandre Metreveli.

“He played well in the first set and things were not going my way. But I got better with each set and am happy to get the win,” Hurkacz said.

Spain and Poland later both won their doubles matches to make it 3-0 scorelines.

Poland can book a place in the semi-finals if they defeat Argentina on Wednesday in their next group game.

Majchrzak needed only 53 minutes to beat Bakshi.

“I was trying to move him around and I think that was the key to the match,” said Majchrzak, who is coached by former world No. 7 Joakim Nystrom.

“He brings me a lot of confidence and a lot of calm in my tennis so I can feel that I am improving,” Majchrzak said of Nystrom on the ATP Tour’s website. “We are working on (developing an all-court game) but in a way that doesn’t interrupt my baseline game. We will take it from the practice to the matches but it takes time.”

Greece plays Argentina and Serbia takes on Chile in night matches Monday.

The four group winners in the 16-team tournament advance to the semi-finals on Friday and Saturday, with the winners meeting in the final on Sunday.