Sydney, Jan. 1 (BNA): Pablo Carreno Busta gave Spain a successful start to the ATP Cup on Saturday when he beat Chile’s Alejandro Tapelo 6-4 7-6 (4) in the first set of the lucrative men’s team tournament.
Carreno Busta led the Spanish team in the absence of Rafael Nadal, initially looking rusty and losing 0-3 to the difficult Chilean left at the start of both sets, Reuters reported.
The world number 20 showed great fighting and there was little performance to get the job done in two sets, recovering once again from a 1-3 deficit in the second tiebreak to claim victory when Tabello netted a forehand.
“The start of the match was very tough, and he was playing some really good tennis,” Carino Busta said at Ken Rosewall Arena.
“It was the first match of the year…but I’m glad I was always fighting and at the end of the match I was playing much better than I was at the beginning.”
Federico Delbonis earlier made a light work of Alexandre Mitrivili with a 6-1 6-2 win at the Sydney Superdome to give Argentina a 1-0 lead in their Group D encounter against Georgia.
The third edition of the $10 million ATP Cup features 16 teams divided into four groups who play at two venues in the Sydney Olympic Park.
The absences of Novak Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer for various reasons have robbed the event of some sparkle, but 14 of the world’s top 20 players are in play as they prepare to start the Australian Open on January 17.
World number four Stefanos Tsitsipas will start his career in 2022 in Greece’s case against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth set later on Saturday.
Daniil Medvedev, second in the world rankings after Djokovic, will represent defending champions Russia in their opening Group B match against France on Sunday.