Spain’s depth key in victory over Aussies

SPAIN’S tennis riches were on display on Tuesday night as the powerhouse nation overcame Rafael Nadal’s injury absence to cruel Australia’s ATP Cup hopes.

Roberto Bautista Agut stepped into Nadal’s shoes as the No.1 player for last year’s runner-up, but was initially sluggish against Alex de Minaur in his first match since emerging from a fortnight of hard quarantine.

The late reshuffle came about because the 20-times grand slam champion announced just half an hour before the tie that he would skip it because of back stiffness.

Spain was still able to call on top-20 stars Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta.

Carreno Busta gave Spain a 1-0 edge with an emphatic 6-2 6-4 defeat of John Millman, before Bautista Agut rallied past de Minaur and clinch the tie with an impressive 4-6 6-4 6-4 triumph.

The world No.13 had lost his previous two matches against the 21-year-old Australian, who began the season by winning the Antalya title.

“Everybody knows Alex – he’s a great fighter, great player, and he comes from a winning tournament, so he was confident and it took me a while to get the rhythm of the match,” Bautista Agut said after the match.

“I just wanted to fight when I was 5-1 down in the first set. I was trying to get the rhythm and speed of the court and it’s never easy to start a season.

“You’re always a little bit more nervous in the first match and I fought well and got the rhythm and finished the match playing very well.”