Argentina lost 2-1 to Russia on Tuesday in their first ATP Cup appearance in Melbourne, in preparation for the Australian Open. Singles duels ruled the outcome, because Guido Pella was down Andrey Rublev And Diego Schwartzman versus Daniel Medvedev. Horacio and Zebalos Farest Gonzalez They achieved the only light blue and white victory in the day by winning the doubles that ended the series. Thus, he leads the team Jose Acasuso He complicates his chances of advancing to the semi-finals and is no longer on his own.
Bella of Bahia, 44th in the standings, opened the match between the Argentines and the Russians, with a final loss to Rublev (8), 6-1, 6-2 in a specific hour of play. Then Schwartzman (ninth place) lost to Medvedev (fourth and champion of the London Masters last year), 7-5, 6-3, after an hour and 40 minutes of play.
With the Russians winning, Zebalos are third in the doubles standings, and Gonzales are defeated 6-4 7-6 (6-4) for Aslan Karatsev s Evgeny Donskoy And they put the final numbers for the duel, corresponding to a group D.
Schwartzman fought off Medvedev, still at his sweeping level since last year. Photo: AFP
“I think my backhand is my best shot and in this match it was not good enough. I made some mistakes in important moments, even though I had a good game with my leadership, my serve and my net. But Medvedev played better. He served very well. That gave him an advantage, “he analyzed Small After the game.
Medvedev agreed. “The key when I play with Diego is that I serve a little better than him and there is my chance,” said the Russian responsible for Schwartzman’s last three defeats in the ring. He ditched it last year at the 1000 Masters in Paris and the Masters in London and now, at the start of this season.
Bella, who had to serve in absolute quarantine after arriving in Australia on one of the flights in which there were cases of coronavirus, admitted that Rublev was a fair winner.
An alarming object on the Argentine bank during the Bella-Robliff duel. Photo by Paul Crook / AFP
“It was a difficult game. I think I played very well. It was my first game in nearly five months, so it was hard for me to be confident in tennis. He was able to hit the ball very well, he played much better than me.” He deserved the award. Victory, “Bahian commented.
Argentina’s next match will be on Thursday, starting at 3.30 pm in our country against Japan, the team led by Ki Nishikori (41) who will make his debut in the competition on Wednesday against Russia.
If the Russians, the region’s top favorites, win the duel against the Asians, they will enter the semi-finals – a match that the first team from each group advances in – and decide to disqualify Argentina. If the win is for the Japanese, Schwartzman will arrive with chances in Thursday’s clash. In that case, the point Zebalos and Gonzalez scored in the doubles could be important.
Zebalos and Gonzalez gave Argentina the only point over Russia. Photo by Reuters / Jimmy Joy
Serbia, the champion of the first edition of the competition, which was held last year, and the first candidate to lift the Cup in 2021, started with the right foot.
Led by Novak Djokovic, they defeated Canada 2-1 in their Group A debut. Milos Raonic put North America 1-0 ahead with a 6-3 victory over Dusan Lagovic 6-4. The world number one matches the series, beating Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 7-5. And in doubles, loom Filip Krajinovic defeated Raonic and Shapovalov 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), and decided the victory. On Thursday, they will leave for Germany.
For its part, Spain, which reached the final in 2020, beat Australia 3-0 in Group B’s first date, despite the absence of their star Rafael Nadal. The world number two missed the accident due to severe pain in his back.
Nadal, who suffers from back pain, missed Spain’s first ATP Cup appearance Photo: EFE
Likewise, the Iberians won a landslide victory at the hands of Pablo Carreno Busta, who defeated John Millman 6-2, 6-4; Roberto Bautista Agut, who defeated Alex De Minor 4-6 6-4 6-4; And the Carreño duo Busta-Granollers, who defeated John Peers and Luke Saville 6-4, 7-5.
In another series of the day, Austria fell 2–1 to Italy. Denis Novak put Austria ahead 6-3 6-2 over Fabio Funini. Matteo Perettini stunned Dominic Thiem, third in the standings, by beating them 6-2, 6-4 and tied the score. In the crucial duo, Brettini and Funini beat Tim and Novak 6-1, 6-4.
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