World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas yesterday crashed to defeat in his first singles match since elbow surgery, losing an epic battle against feisty Argentinian Diego Schwartzman 6-7 (5/7) 6-3, 6-3 at the ATP Cup.
The Greek star went under the knife in late November after pulling out of the ATP Finals in Turin, hoping to be at full fitness for the Australian Open later this month.
He was scheduled to return against world No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz at the teams event on Saturday, but withdrew, opting instead to ease himself back in a doubles rubber.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He showed up to play 11th-ranked Schwartzman and looked at his battling best in winning the first set tiebreak.
Tsitsipas was moving freely with little sign of his right elbow causing problems, but the 23-year-old lost his focus, and with it, five games in a row. After being broken in the second set, there was no way back on a humid Sydney evening.
“It’s his first match for two months after surgery, and I was just thinking if the match was going to go long I had a chance,” Schwartzman said after the 2-hour, 42-minute battle that helped Argentina win their second ATP tie after beating Georgia on day one.
“I was ready for that, and I think everything is going very well, playing Stefanos is not easy,” he added.
Federico Delbonis had earlier continued his perfect start to the season by overcoming Greek No. 2 Michail Pervolarakis 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 to give Argentina a 1-0 lead.
In morning action, Hurkacz ensured Poland also went 2-0, but the world No. 9 was forced to dig deep against Georgian Aleksandre Metreveli, ranked just 570, who stepped in after Nikoloz Basilashvili was a no-show.
However, once he found his groove, last year’s Miami Open champion raced to a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Kamil Majchrzak gave Poland a strong start when he dropped just two games against Aleksandre Bakshi, winning 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes.
Whoever wins between Poland and Argentina tomorrow will make the semi-finals, with only the top nation from each of the four groups progressing to the knockouts.
Meanwhile, 19th-ranked veteran Roberto Bautista Agut upset world No. 8 Casper Ruud to give Spain their second straight win against Norway.
Thirty-three-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 backed it up with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Ruud.
It ensured Spain won the tie with an unassailable 2-0 after Pablo Carreno Busta dismissed Norway’s 345th-ranked Viktor Durasovic 6-3, 6-3 in just 69 minutes.
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