Spain reaches the final of the ATP Cup for the second time

Roberto Bautista Agut (Google Images)

For the second time in the short three-year history of the ATP Cup, Spain has reached the final. On Friday, Spain won two singles matches in beating Poland, and will play either Canada or Russia in the 2022 ATP Cup Final from Sydney, Australia on Sunday.

The fact that Spain is in the ATP Cup Final explains a lot regarding their overall depth in the men’s game at the moment. Without having the services of 20-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal, who tested positive for coronavirus last month, Spain could have struggled without their leader in this intriguing international team tennis tournament.

However, Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta both played exceptional tennis in Friday’s semifinals. Carreno Busta got Spain in the win column first with a straight sets win over Poland’s Jan Zielinski, 6-2, 6-1. The biggest statistic in this match came down to the second serve. Carreno Busta won 67% of his second serve points, while Zelinski only won 10%. Zielinski’s poor second serve was the primary reason he was broken four times.

Bautista Agut then followed up Carreno Busta’s success with a hard fought three-set win over reigning Miami Masters champion and Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz. Bautista Agut came through with a 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 win where Bautista Agut won the first set 8-6 in a tie-break, and the third set 7-5 in a tie-break. What was incredible in this match was the fact that Bautista Agut won the match despite having 23 fewer aces than Hurkacz. Bautista Agut had one ace compared to Hurkacz’s 24.

Spain will be looking for a better fate at the 2022 ATP Cup, than they did in 2020. That year they lost the inaugural tournament two matches to one to Serbia.

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