ATP Cup 2021: Rafael Nadal to miss second tie against Greece

ATP Cup 2021: Rafael Nadal to miss second tie against Greece
Rafael Nadal

After missing the first match of ATP Cup 2021, Rafael Nadal will miss the second match against Greece too. The world no.2 is struggling with a minor back injury and not risking anything ahead of the Australian Open. 

Last year, Nadal led Spain towards the final at the ATP Cup but has not been able to help his country so far, with Spain beating Australia 3-0 on Tuesday.

Pablo Carreno Busta and Roberto Bautista Agut defeated John Millman and Alex de Minaur to lead Spain towards the triumph, and they need one victory against Greece to secure the semi-final berth. If all goes according to plan, it should come in the first match between Pablo Carreno Busta and Michail Pervolorakis.

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Hard-hitter Carreno Busta defeated John Millman 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 17 minutes, hitting 19 winners and 15 unforced errors and playing well on both serve and return. The Spaniard lost serve once and scored four breaks to control the result and bring the victory home.

He cruised past his opponents and won the opening set convincingly. The second set saw nine comfortable holds and a break for Pablo at 2-2 following John’s loose forehand. Serving for the win at 5-4, the Spaniard held with a service winner to propel Spain in front.

In the next match of the tie,  Roberto Bautista Agut ousted Alex de Minaur 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes to deliver Spain’s overall victory. Despite losing the first set, Bautista Agut found his touch and broke his opponent’s serve when needed.

Rafael Nadal to skip the second ATP Cup tie against Greece

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Ahead of the Australian Open, this untimely injury has set Nadal on the back foot. The Spaniard will now be in a race against time to fully recover before Monday.

Nadal had earlier said that he had never thought he would ever reach where he currently stands. And any grand slam win further will just be a celebration. Yet Nadal would want to gear up as quickly as possible to compete in the Australian Open 2021.

For team Spain, they just need one win out of three in their next tie against Greece to reach the semi-finals.

Also read: “I love playing someone who’s top 10” – Sumit Nagal on his encounters with Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem