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The first edition of the ATP Cup will end on an exciting note for all the tennis lovers across the world as the world number one Rafael Nadal will take on world number two Novak Djokovic in the finals. The two heavyweights will play against each other as they lead their countries, Spain and Serbia, in the finals of the ATP Cup 2020 at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena.
Both Spain and Serbia went on to win their respective semifinals matches in what was the whitewash of their opponents. Serbia beat Russia in the first semi-final match while Spain went past hosts Australia in a high octane match. They had both remained unbeaten in pool matches and had topped their groups.
Serbia won 3-0 against Russia in the first semifinal, winning both the singles matches and one doubles match. Dušan Lajović started off by winning his match against Karen Khachanov in straight sets. Djokovic had a tough match against Daniil Medvedev with the Serb winning the match 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 47 minutes.
Spain's winning run continued with Roberto Bautista Agut and Nadal winning their respective singles matches and taking their country into the finals. After losing his first match of the tournament, Nadal came back strong against Alex de Minaur of Australia and beat him in three sets. The 33-year old Spaniard came back from a set down to win the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in little over two hours.
In the finals, Lajović is all set to face Agut in the first singles match. In their previous three encounters, Agut has emerged as the winner on all occasions, the latest win being at the 2018 Basel Indoors. In what would be a thrilling match at the start of the year, Djokovic will then take on Nadal in the second singles match.
The top two players will be facing each other a record 55th time. Djokovic leads 28-26 in their previous 54 meetings and would be looking to extend the record over his rival. Nadal has looked in superb form throughout the tournament, with just one loss coming in the quarterfinal encounter against Belgium. He has not lost two consecutive matches since October 2016 and would be looking to keep the momentum high after his win against De Minaur.
On the other hand, Nadal's opponent Djokovic is going strong at the ATP Cup 2020. He has a flawless 6-0 record in the singles matches and has registered the most number of wins over Nadal in outdoor hard courts. It will be interesting to see if Nadal comes close to equalizing the win/loss record against the Serb or falls yet again to his opponent.
Here is the ATP CUP 2020 Finals schedule:
01:00 PM (IST) - Dušan Lajović vs Roberto Bautista Agut
02:20 PM (IST) - Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
03:40 PM (IST) - Novak Djokovic/Viktor Troicki vs Pablo Carreño Busta/Rafael Nadal
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
