Rafael Nadal, Bautista Agut Help Spain Reach ATP Cup Quarters
Besides Spain, Australia, Britain, Argentina, Russia, Serbia, Canada and Belgium have reached the quarter-final.
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Spain advanced to the quarter-finals of the ATP Cup even before Rafael Nadal stepped on to the court Wednesday at the Perth Arena.
Spain, which won the Davis Cup in Madrid with a victory over Canada, stayed in the hunt for its second international team victory in seven weeks when Roberto Bautista Agut beat Go Soeda of Japan 6-2, 6-4.
Nadal later had a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over 72nd-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka.
"I always enjoy sharing important moments with friends, and we had a lot of success during our entire careers playing for our country in Davis Cup," Nadal said. “So for us it's a good start, to be able to be qualified for Sydney already. The conditions will be different, and a three-hour time (difference). There's a lot of things we need to adjust to, and the period of time to make it happen is very short."
Previously winless Poland's surprise victory over Austria eliminated fourth-ranked Dominic Thiem's team. Hubert Hurkacz's 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over Thiem eliminated Austria after Kacper Zuk beat Dennis Novak 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 in the opening match in Sydney.
The remaining quarter-finalists were decided later Wednesday: Argentina won Group E, Belgium was the first runner-up and Canada the second runner-up.
The quarter-final line-up has Australia playing Britain and Argentina taking on Russia on Thursday. On Friday, Serbia plays Canada and Belgium takes on Spain, all at Ken Rosewall Arena at Sydney Olympic Park.
The semi-finals are set for Saturday and the final on Sunday.
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