John Millman got a late call to fill in for Nick Kyrgios yesterday and got Australia off to a winning start on his home court against Canada.
Later, Alex de Minaur secured the match when he rallied from a set and a break down to beat Denis Shapovalov 6-7 (8/6), 6-4, 6-2 at the Pat Rafter Arena.
“I would love to take care of things a bit easier, but you kind of got to play the cards you’re dealt,” said De Minaur, who did a little dance on court to celebrate his win. “I had chances in the first set. I probably didn’t do too well mentally after that. I went through a little bit of a rough patch ... but I managed to turn things around. So obviously very proud.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Australia also won the doubles to complete a sweep and, with that, moved atop Group F in the new ATP Cup, a 24-team tournament that is starting the southern summer for the first time.
Canada were 1-1 after opening with victory over Greece.
The six group winners and the two best second-place teams advance to the playoffs in Sydney from Thursday, and Australia have a good chance of making it.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Kyrgios pulled out of his scheduled match against Felix Auger-Aliassime in Brisbane because of a sore back. No. 48-ranked Millman stepped in to win 6-4, 6-2.
In Sydney, Bulgaria made it two wins from two in Group C, following up their opening 2-1 win over Britain with a more comfortable result against Moldova.
In Perth, Italy needed victory in the doubles to beat Norway 2-1. Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, the 2015 Australian Open doubles champions, combined to beat Casper Ruud and Viktor Durasovic 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Photo: EPA-EFE
Ruud, who led Norway’s opening win over the US, had beaten Fognini 6-2, 6-2 in the second singles match to level the tie after Stefano Travaglia’s 6-1, 6-1 win over Viktor Durasovic gave Italy an early lead.
Grigor Dimitrov had a 6-2, 6-3 win over Radu Albot to secure Bulgaria an unbeatable 2-0 lead after Dimitar Kuzmanov beat Alexander Cozbinov 6-1, 7-5. Albot led Moldova to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win in the doubles to make the final margin 2-1.
Dimitrov, the playing captain for Bulgaria, said the winning start was no surprise to him.
Photo: AFP
“Coming into this thing, I knew that if we come together, we have a great opportunity,” he said. “I know I have to not only believe in myself now, but I need to believe in the players that are with me. My only goal was, and I’m honest on that, was just to put them together, to make sure we practice together, to make sure they learn something from me, to make sure they are surrounded by the top players.”
In late games on Saturday, Novak Djokovic fended off Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (8/6) to secure Serbia’s win over South Africa in Group A.
Djokovic fed off the large Serbian crowd in Brisbane, but also had to remonstrate with them when things got tense in the first tiebreaker, as spectators called out during rallies on consecutive points.
Djokovic yelled toward the stands before holding his finger to his lips to demand quiet.
The chair umpire also intervened to ask the crowd to “show good sportsmanship.”
“That was the Serbian crowd that was a little bit too excited,” Djokovic said. “It was in the heat of the moment and I’m sorry if I offended anybody, but it happened a couple of points in a row — I really didn’t need them interfering in the point, but I’m really thankful for their support. I thought the atmosphere was Davis Cup-like.”
Rafael Nadal had an easier time clinching Spain’s win over Georgia, beating Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 7-5 in Perth after Roberto Bautista Agut crushed No. 678-ranked Aleksandre Metreveli 6-0, 6-0.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two