Rafael Nadal arrives in Perth where he will try to win the ATP Cup with the help of Roberto Bautista Agut, Feliciano Lopez and Pablo Carreno-Busta.
The Spanish sensation ended the season as the world no.1, and he had a strong performance in the recent Mubadala World Tennis Championship after he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in a thrilling final.
The King of Clay has high hopes about winning the ATP Cup especially after Team Spain conquered the Davis Cup last November.
🚨 The World No. 1 is back in Australia 🚨
The moment 🇪🇸 @RafaelNadal & #TeamSpain landed in Perth 👇@WestAustralia | #thisiswa pic.twitter.com/roVMhKWOum
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 29, 2019
Francisco Roig as the captain
It’s interesting to notice that Rafa’s coach, Francisco Roig, will also be the captain of the Spanish team. Roig is rather optimistic ahead of their run in Australia to comment:
“There are lot of tough teams, and you’re out if you don’t play well, but I’m happy with the group we have.
The team we’re taking is spectacular. It’s a competition in which you’re always wary of a small mistake that could knock you out, but obviously Spain is among the favorites.
There are difficult teams and the margin for error is small, but I’m confident we can play well enough to reach Sydney [the quarters]. I’m optimistic that we can have a good tournament”.
The Spanish team will compete in a rather weak group with Japan (without an injured Nishikori), Georgia and Uruguay.
Welcome to Perth, 🇪🇸 #TeamSpain!@BautistaAgut @pablocarreno91 @feliciano_lopez @RafaelNadal @WestAustralia | #thisiswa pic.twitter.com/jIBUzcNMpk
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 29, 2019
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked world no.1, Rafael played his last match on the 24th of November when he overcame Denis Shapovalov 6-3 7-67 in the Rubber 2 in Davis Cup.
At present, this year Nadal has a 52-7 win-loss record. Nadal has won 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. Rafael was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Roberto Bautista Agut’s ranking and performance in 2019
At the moment ranked no.9 (career-high), Roberto played his last match on the 24th of November when he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-63 6-3 in the Rubber 1 in Davis Cup.
At present, this year Bautista-Agut has a 40-21 win-loss record. Roberto has won 1 title in Doha.
Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut played each other 3 times. The head to head is 3-0 for Nadal.
The last time that they locked horns, Rafael Nadal won 6-1 6-1 in the 2nd round in Monte-Carlo (Monte) on the 17th of April 2019.
Feliciano Lopez’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked world no.62, the Spaniard played his last match on the 23rd of November when he capitulated to Kyle Edmund 6-3 7-63 in the Rubber 1 in Davis Cup.
During this season Feliciano has a 19-19 win-loss record. Lopez has won 1 title in London.
Pablo Carreno-Busta’s ranking and performance in 2019
Now the world no.27, Carreno-Busta played his last match on the 22nd of November when he capitulated to Guido Pella 6-73 7-64 6-1 in the Rubber 1 in Davis Cup.
During this season Pablo has a 36-21 win-loss record. Carreno-Busta clinched 1 title in Chengdu.
