• De Miñaur: An angry chat with his Spanish coach

A six-time Davis Cup champion, Spain has had a proven strength in team competitions for more than two decades.

It is true that he went through a critical period during the convulsed presidency of the Federation of

José Luis Escañuela

, which was about to suppose the descent into hell, but since the first Salad Bowl, which last December was two decades, and later under the leadership of

Rafael Nadal

, it has established itself as one of the great powers of this game.

Finalist in 2020 of the ATP Cup, a tournament that is now in its second edition, is once again among the favorites for the title, then denied by

Novak Djokovic's

Serbia

.

This Tuesday, without Nadal, down at the last minute due to back problems that he had dragged on for two days, he liquidated Australia 3-0.

With the base of the team that won the renewed Davis Cup in 2019, only

Feliciano López

absent

, the men captained by

José Vendrell

overcame the absence of the manacorense, very active, as usual, from the bench.

Pablo Carreño

occupied the place of Bautista in the first game to beat

John Millman

and the Castellón was number 1, with a brilliant reaction against the emerging

Alex de Miñaur

, recent champion in the Antalya tournament.

To top it all off, in an almost irrelevant match, which would only gain qualitative value in hypothetical draws within Group B, Carreño and Granollers defeated the couple formed by

John Peers

and

Luke Saville

: 6-4 and 7-5.

Inflection point

Without forgetting the courage of Carreño, a double winner who was not counted on for the individuals, the protagonist of the crossing was Bautista, a tennis player who by the way of 33 years has reached a high degree of reliability also within the group.

There is a turning point for today's world number 13 in the 2019 Davis Cup finals, when he demonstrated extraordinary human and professional integrity by giving a decisive point in the final match against Canada just three days after the death of his father .

Bautista, who had suffered bad drinks when he had to wear the red one, to which he never turned his back, is today a convincing player, capable of overlooking an absence of the caliber of Nadal's.

In their first meeting since last October 17 losing in the semi-finals in Cologne against

Félix Auger-Aliassime

, the Spaniard had to row against a more rolling opponent, who already had the five victories that led him to conquer the fourth in Turkey title of his still short career.

“It took me a while to get into the rhythm of the game and the speed of the court.

It is never easy to start a season, "he said after winning 4-6, 6-4 and 6-4, in two hours and 19 minutes.

Patient, with the temperance that characterizes him, he fit in well with De Miñaur's hurricane start, who hit everything and from any position, and the scarce benefits of his service.

He knew how to mature the game until he saw how the impetuous Sydney tennis player exceeded his game and fell victim to precipitation.

De Miñaur also had the initial bonus of not having given up a set in the two victories achieved in the two previous meetings with Bautista: in the semifinals of Zhuhai in 2019 and in the initial round of Paris-Bercy, that same season.

This time, with responsibilities of a different order, everything was different.

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Know more

  • Rafael Nadal

  • Davis cup

  • tennis

ATP CupNadal praises Australia's health management: "In Spain or France all this is unthinkable"

TenisBautista comes back and ends the victory against Australia of a Spain without Nadal

TennisThe angry talk between De Miñaur and his Spanish coach: "Tell me, come on!"

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