10 Things That Matter On Day 2 Of ATP Cup

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After an action-packed opening day at the ATP Cup, 12 more countries will begin their title campaigns on Day 2 across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.

Here are the 10 things that matter most ahead of Day 2 at the ATP Cup.

1) Day 2 Highlights: The second day of action will feature the three highest ranked players at this year’s ATP Cup. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal begins his campaign in Perth, World No. 2 Novak Djokovic starts his year in Brisbane and Nitto ATP Finals runner-up Dominic Thiem will showcase his skills in Sydney.

2) Making A Strong Start: By the end of play on Saturday, all 24 countries will have contested their opening round-robin tie. The 12 countries competing on Day 2 will all be eager to join Day 1 winners including Belgium, Canada and Norway by moving to 1-0 in their groups.

3) Deciding Doubles: With Norway v United States being the first tie of the event decided by a winner-takes-all doubles match, the importance of a strong doubles partnership could prove to be the key to victory again on Day 2.

4) Team Spirit: Another feature of the opening day was the strong connection between players and their team zones. Having the close support and advice of teammates, coaches and team captains could make the difference in crucial moments at the ATP Cup.

5) France v Chile: Not many countries can boast the depth and talent of Team France. Gael Monfils and Benoit Paire will contest singles matches to open the show on Pat Rafter Arena. France will face Team Chile, which contains 2019 ATP Tour titlists Cristian Garin and Nicolas Jarry, in its opening Group A tie. Monfils and Garin are meeting for the first time at tour-level, but Paire leads Jarry 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

6) Serbia v South Africa: Djokovic is a man who knows a thing or two about starting the season well in Australia. But if the seven-time Australian Open champion wants to win his first match at the ATP Cup, he will have to defeat a player he met 18 months ago in a Grand Slam final.

In a repeat of the 2018 Wimbledon championship match, Djokovic will face Kevin Anderson in his opening Group A clash. The 77-time tour-level titlist has won eight of his previous 10 FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters against the 6’8” South African.

7) Japan v Uruguay: Yoshihito Nishioka and Pablo Cuevas lead their countries in the opening tie at RAC Arena in Perth. The only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head clash between the pair also came in Australia, with Cuevas triumphing in straight sets to reach the Australian Open second round in 2016.

8) Spain v Georgia: Following Roberto Bautista Agut's opening match against Aleksandre Metreveli, Nadal will aim to extend his three-match unbeaten FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Nikoloz Basilashvili. In his two clay-court meetings against the Georgian, the 19-time Grand Slam champion dropped just two games across five sets. Basilashvili did manage to take a set off the Spaniard in their only previous hard-court match at the 2018 US Open.

9) Argentina v Poland: Diego Schwartzman and Hubert Hurkacz both found their best form on hard courts in 2019, winning ATP 250 crowns in Los Cabos and Winston-Salem respectively. The two players will need to replicate that form on Ken Rosewall Arena if they are to record a victory in this Group E match.

10) Austria v Croatia: In another tie packed with talent, Austria and Croatia will both be well aware of the threat their opponents pose. Former World No. 3 Marin Cilic faces Dennis Novak in a meeting of No. 2 singles players, followed by Thiem contesting his fifth FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter against Borna Coric.

After splitting their first two meetings, Thiem was forced to deciding sets at ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Paris en route to victories against the 23-year-old in 2018. Both countries possess strong doubles members, with Jurgen Melzer and Oliver Marach available for Austria and Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic on hand for Croatia.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/35hxW0Q