ATP Cup 2020: Day 4 schedule, preview, and players to watch out for
The current world number two Novak Djokovic led Serbia to a hard-fought 3-0 win over South Africa in the Group A encounter of ATP Cup 2020 on Friday. Novak defeated Kevin Anderson 7-6(7-5), 7-6(8-6) in the second singles match in two hours and 19 minutes to notch his 9th win over the world number 91. Serbia will be up against heavyweights France in their next encounter in a bid to seal a place in the final eight.
The reigning Davis Cup champions, Spain, will also be in action on Monday as they take on Uruguay in the Group B encounter. Japan will take on Georgia in another tie from the same group. Croatia, Poland, Austria, and Argentina would compete in Group E matches. Here is the abridged schedule:
Group A - South Africa vs Chile (Morning)
South Africa and Chile both have a chance to make it to the final eight of the ATP Cup 2020. After losing their opening encounter, both the teams would be under pressure to win their second tie. A win would mean one step closer to their last eight qualification. They will, however, have to win their third encounter as well to qualify for the next round. Lloyd Harris and Nicolás Jarry will face each other in the first singles match which will be followed by the second match between Kevin Anderson and Cristian Garín. All the four players will be facing each other for the first time.
Group A - Serbia vs France (Evening)
Benoît Paire and Gael Monfils led France to a 2-1 win against Chile in their opening match of ATP Cup. Both the players won their singles match before Chile took away the doubles match. They would now face Serbia who are currently on the top position in the group. A win for any of the team would mean entry into the quarterfinals. Dušan Lajović will open the proceedings for the tie with a singles match against Benoît Paire. The second singles match between Novak Djokovic and Monfils would be the highlight of the day with the Serbian leading 15-0 in their previous encounters. Djokovic will be seen teaming up with Viktor Troicki to face Nicolas Mahut and Édouard Roger-Vasselin in the doubles clash.
Group B - Japan vs Georgia (Morning)
After thrashing Uruguay 3-0 in their opening encounter, Japan are tied for the first spot with Spain. They did not drop a single set against Uruguay and would be looking to continue the same momentum as they take on Georgia in their second match. Go Soeda will face Aleksandre Metreveli in the opening tie while Yoshihito Nishioka faces Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second singles tie.
Group B - Spain vs Uruguay (Evening)
Favourites Spain will be looking to seal their place in the quarterfinals as they take on Uruguay in the second Group B match on Monday in Perth. They had a easy 3-0 win over Georgia and with the team they have, it looks like they would sail to victory against Uruguay as well. Franco Roncadelli and Pablo Cuevas will face Roberto Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal in the singles matches respectively before the doubles tie. Nadal and Pablo Carreño Busta take on Ariel Behar / Pablo Cuevas in the doubles encounter.
Group E - Croatia vs Poland (Morning)
Croatia lost two sets against Austria in their opening tie but went on to win the match 3-0 to make a strong statement at the ATP Cup in Sydney. Marin Čilić and Borna Ćorić won their respective singles matches in three sets, even as Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektić got the doubles in two sets. They will now face Poland, who lost to Argentina 1-2 in their first match. Kamil Majchrzak will be up against Cilic in the first singles while Hubert Hurkacz face Coric in the second. Ćorić had stunned world number four Dominic Thiem to win the first singles match.
Group E - Austria vs Argentina (Evening)
Thiem led Austria will be looking to bounce back from their loss against Croatia on Saturday. The world number four will face Diego Schwartzman after Dennis Novak faces Guido Pella in the first singles match of the Group E encounter.
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