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The inaugural edition of the ATP Cup 2020 is grabbing the headlines with its early year dose of intense tennis drama in the build-up to the first Grand Slam of the year - the Australian Open. Starting from Thursday, teams from eight countries will be playing for the big prize at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
The 10-day tournament is being played over three cities in the Australian continent and acts as the perfect warm-up for the Grand Slam season.
So far, out of the 24 participating countries, the Final 8 have finally been decided after several crucial and nail-biting ties were played out by the six groups. The teams from Argentina, Belgium, and Canada stole the highlight of the day by sealing the remaining spots for the Final 8.
Argentina emerged to be the winners of Group E winner after a 3-0 win over Croatia. The Argentine side led by Guido Pella and Diego Schwartzman was top-class against Marin Cilic and Borna Coric and took them down respectively in straight sets to earn a place in the Final 8. Pella was relentless and took down Cilic 7-6, 6-3.
On the other hand, Coric was an easy prey for rising star Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2. In the doubles encounter, the Argentine duo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, despite losing the first set, evened matters out in the deciding second set against Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic 6-3, 3(2)-6(10).
The results meant that the teams from Belgium and Canada, who held the spots coming into Wednesday's action, stayed true to their positions without playing any more ties. With Croatia also losing their doubles match to Argentina, Canada gained automatic entry into the Final 8 as the second-best runner-up team.
While World Number 2 Novak Djokovic led his able team from Serbia into the Final 8, World Number 1 Rafael Nadal also did the same for Spain, who are fresh off their Davis Cup victory. Host nation Australia have also played impressively so far and has made it to the Final 8.
Great Britain has also secured a spot along with the Russian team and the Belgian team. Argentina was dominant today and made it to the quarter-final stages whilst the young Canadian team was also jubilant upon securing a place for the main stage of the Championships.
The more exciting and heated leg of the Championship begins from the 9th of January with the Final 8 clashes ready to begin and lock horns against each other.
Get the full ATP Cup 2020 Results
