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Patna : Spain and Serbia entered the semi-finals of 24-nation inaugural ATP Cup at Sydney, Australia, winning their respective quarter-finals matches on January 10, 2020, But, World No 1 Rafael Nadal, Spain, suffered his first defeat in the tournament on January 10. Spain beat Belgium 2-1 while Serbia beat Canada 3-0 in QFs. Spain will face Australia in the SFs while Serbia will play Russia on January 11, 2020.
World No 11 David Goffin beat World No 1 Rafael Nadal in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 in 2 hr 23 minutes in the second singles match on January 10 night to level the ties 1-1. Goffin won 3 break points in the match to 2 by Nadal. Goffin fired 6 Aces in the match to 4 by Nadal. The Spaniard committed 4 double faults to 3 by Goffin. The Belgian also won 5 consecutive games in a row in the match to 3 by Nadal, the winner of 19 Grand Slam titles.
But, World No 10 Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain, beat Kimmer Koppejans, Belgium, 6-1, 6-4 in 90 minutes in the first singles to give Spain 1-0 lead. Agut won 4 break points in the match to 1 by Kimmer. He also won 5 games in a row to 3 by Kimmer.
The pair of Rafael Nadal & Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain, defeated Sander Gille & Joran Vliegen, Belgium, 6-7, 7-5, 10-7 in the double match to win the tie 2-1.
In the Serbia vs Canada QF match, World No 2 Novak Djokovic, Serbia, beat World No 14 Denis Shapovalov, Canada, in a tough three-set contest 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 in 2hr 40 minutes coming from behind. Shapovalov fired 15 Aces in the match to 4 by Djokovic. But, Djokovic won 3 break points to 2 by the Canadian. Djokovic committed 8 double faults to 7 by the Canadian. The World No 2 also won 5 games in a row to 3 by Shapovalov.
World No 34 Dusan Lajovic, Serbia, beat World No 21 Felix Auger-Aliasimme, Canada, 6-4, 6-2 in 1hr 39 minutes. Aliasimme hammered 10 Aces in the match to 3 by Lajovic. Lajovic though won 3 break points to none by Aliasimme. The Serbian also won 5 games in a row in the match. Serbia also won the double match to win the tie 3-0.