Spaniard inflicts Ruud shock at cup
ROBERTO Bautista Agut upset world No. 8 Casper Ruud to give Spain its second straight win at the ATP Cup, a record matched by Hubert Hurkacz’s Poland.
The 33-year-old Bautista Agut is the lead singles player for his country in the absence of 20-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal and has stepped up in style.
After crushing Chile’s world No. 17 Cristian Garin in Sydney on Saturday, he produced a battling 6-4 7-6 (7/4) victory over Ruud, the first Norwegian to win an ATP Tour title.
“I played very good with very few unforced errors,” said 19th-ranked Bautista Agut. “It’s a good start (to the season) and I’m feeling good.”
It ensured Spain won the tie with an unassailable 2-0 ahead of a dead doubles rubber, after Pablo Carreno Busta dismissed Norway’s 345th-ranked Viktor Durasovic 6-3 6-3 in 69 minutes. Former top-10 star Carreno Busta is now 4-1 in singles in his ATP Cup career, having beaten Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo on Saturday.
“It’s always important to win the first match. Today I felt more and more comfortable than the first day,” he said.
“We need to get the rhythm, we need to get the confidence.”
Hurkacz ensured Poland also went 2-0. But the world No. 9 was forced to dig deep against Georgian Aleksandre Metreveli, ranked at 570, who stepped in after Nikoloz Basilashvili pulled out pre-match.
But once he found his groove, last year’s Miami Open champion raced to a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-1 victory.
“He played well in the first set and things were not going my way. But I got better with each set and am happy to get the win,” Hurkacz said.
Kamil Majchrzak gave Poland a strong start when he dropped just two games against Aleksandre Bakshi, winning 6-1 6-1 in 53 minutes.
Poland can book a semifinal place if it defeats Argentina on Wednesday..