THE round-robin stage of the ATP Cup continued on Saturday in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

In the first two days 426 aces have been served, meaning $42,600 has been raised so far from the ATP Tour alone for bushfire relief.

Group A:
France 2 defeated Chile 1
Benoit Paire (FRA) defeated Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 6-7 6-3 6-3
Gael Monfils (FRA) defeated Cristian Garin (CHI) 6-3 7-5
Garin/ Jarry (CHI) defeated Mahut/ Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 7-5 6-2

France made a successful start to their campaign on the back of singles victories from top-25 pair Benoit Paire and Gael Monfils. Paire defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-7 6-3 6-3 in a strong showing before Monfils was his usual entertaining-self in a 6-3 7-5 win over Cristian Garin. Garin and Jarry regained some confidence in the doubles with an upset victory over world number three doubles player Nicholas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Serbia 3 defeated South Africa 0
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) defeated Lloyd Harris (RSA) 3-6 7-6 6-3
Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeated Kevin Anderson (RSA) 7-6 7-6
Cacic/ Troicki (SRB) defeated Klaasen/ Roelofse (RSA) 6-3 6-2

Sixteen-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic led Serbia to a 3-0 win over South Africa. Djokovic saved a set point to close out Kevin Anderson 7-6 7-6 in Anderson’s first match since Wimbledon in July. Earlier, Dusan Lajovic rallied from a tough first set to beat South African Lloyd Harris 3-6 7-6 6-3 despite Harris holding serve for the entirety of the first two sets. Serbian duo Nikola Cacic and Viktor Troicki completed the clean sweep with a 6-3 6-2 win in the doubles.

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Group B:
Japan 3 defeated Uruguay 0
Go Soeda (JPN) defeated Martin Cuevas (URU) 6-1 6-3
Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) defeated Pablo Cuevas (URU) 6-0 6-1
Matsui/ McLachlan (JPN) defeated Behar/ P. Cuevas (URU) 7-6 6-4

Japan cruised past Uruguay with a 3-0 sweep on Day 2 in Perth. Go Soeda and Yoshihito Nishioka lost just five games between them in their respective singles matches against brothers Martin and Pablo Cuevas. Meanwhile, Toshihide Matsui and Ben McLachlan defeated Ariel Behar and Pablo Cuevas in a close doubles encounter, 7-6 6-4.

Spain 3 defeated Georgia 0
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) defeated Aleksandre Metreveli (GEO) 6-0 6-0
Rafael Nadal (ESP) defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) 6-3 7-5
Lopez/ Carreno Busta (ESP) defeated Bakshi/ Tsivadze (GEO) 6-3 6-4

Davis Cup champions Spain had a dominant opening to their tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Georgia. After Roberto Bautista Agut powered past Aleksandre Metreveli 6-0 6-0 in the first match, world number one Rafael Nadal had it tougher against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. Nadal was broken in the first game but rallied to win 6-3 7-5 in just under two hours. In the doubles, Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez gave up just one break point in a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory.

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Group E:
Argentina 2 defeated Poland 1
Guido Pella (ARG) defeated Kamil Majchrzak (POL) 6-2 2-6 6-2
Hubert Hurkacz (POL) defeated Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 4-6 6-2 6-3
Gonzalez/ Molteni (ARG) defeated Hurkacz/ Kubot (POL) 6-2 6-4

Poland almost pulled off an upset in the incredibly strong Group E, falling to Argentina 2-1. With Austria and Croatia also in the group, this tie was a must win for Argentina through their one-two combination of Guido Pella and Diego Schwartzman. Pella broke Kamil Majchrzak’s serve five times en route to a 6-2 2-6 6-2 victory, but Hubert Hurkacz then got Poland back into the contest. In an entertaining match, he came from one set down to beat Schwartzman 4-6 6-2 6-3. Argentina were too strong in the doubles, winning in straight sets 6-2 6-4 to give them the victory and some confidence going into their next tie against Austria on Monday.

Croatia 3 defeated Austria 0
Marin Cilic (CRO) defeated Dennis Novak (AUT) 6-7 6-4 6-4
Borna Coric (CRO) defeated Dominic Thiem (AUT) 7-6 2-6 6-3
Dodig/ Mektic (CRO) defeated Marach/ Melzer (AUT) 7-6 6-2

A major upset from Borna Coric over world number four Dominic Thiem highlighted Croatia’s 3-0 sweep of Austria. The speedy Croatian played some of his best tennis, beating Thiem 7-6 2-6 6-3 in what was his first win against a top-ten opponent since 2018. Teammate Marin Cilic came back from one set down to beat Dennis Novak 6-7 6-4 6-4, and Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic finished the tie with a 7-6 6-2 win over Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer.