ATP Cup: Great Britain lose it late on and USA defeated, but wins for Australia and Canada
Great Britain began the inaugural ATP Cup with an agonising 2-1 defeat against Bulgaria in Sydney, but there was better news for Australia and Canada on day one.
Doubles pair Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury needed to win their match against Grigor Dimitrov and Alexandar Lazarov to secure overall victory, with the match not being completed until the early hours of the morning.
But after the first two sets were shared following tie-breaks – 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (2-7) – it then came down to a match tie-break that the Bulgarian pair took 11-9 in the early hours of the morning in Australia.
The match went down to the final rubber after British number one Dan Evans surrendered a one-set lead to lose 2-6 6-4 6-1 to US Open semi-finalist Dimitrov in the second singles match.
Cameron Norrie had given his country the perfect start by overcoming world number 423 Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-2 3-6 6-2.
The new 24-nation tournament features six groups of four teams. Each country plays three round-robin ties which are comprised of two singles matches and one doubles.
In the other Group C match, a Belgium team comprised of Steve Darcis, David Goffin and doubles pair Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen defeated Moldova 3-0.
Tournament organisers apologised to Moldova after mistakenly playing the Romanian national anthem before the match.
Hosts Australia enjoyed a successful start by whitewashing Germany 3-0.
Nick Kyrgios and Alex De Minaur each won singles matches to give their team an unassailable lead, defeating Jan Lennard-Struff and world number seven Alexander Zverev respectively.
Canada won the other G encounter at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, beating Greece 3-0. World number 15 Denis Shapovalov defeated world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) in that match.
In the Group D matches played at the RAC Arena in Perth, the United States were beaten 2-1 by Norway, while Russia defeated Italy 3-0.
Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.
Latest
-
NewsFrom Simona Halep to Coco Gauff – The contenders for the women’s Wimbledon title
Ten women to watch at the All England Club.
-
NewsNo queues or courtside autographs – What to expect from a new-look Wimbledon
Centre Court will host capacity crowds for the men’s and women’s finals.
-
NewsFrom Novak Djokovic to Roger Federer – Contenders for the men’s Wimbledon title
Ten players to watch at the All England Club.
-
NewsWimbledon is ‘very odd’ home away from home for British hopeful Johanna Konta
Konta is one of 14 British players in the singles main draws for this year’s Championships.
-
News5 talking points ahead of Wimbledon’s return to the sporting calendar
The championships are back after the 2020 break due to the coronavirus pandemic.
-
NewsOns Jabeur creates a slice of tennis history with a win in the LTA Viking Classic
Ons Jabeur earned herself a place in the history books with her 7-5 6-4 win over Daria Kasatkina in the LTA Viking Classic final.
-
NewsShock result in Halle Open final as Andrey Rublev is beaten
Ugo Humbert stunned world number seven Andrey Rublev in straight sets to lift the Halle Open title.
-
WimbledonCoco Gauff looks ahead to a return to the scene of her greatest triumphs
The American’s career took off in 2019 when she made it to the fourth round at SW19.
-
NewsMatteo Berrettini ends hopes of a new British winner at Queen’s Club
Norrie, 25, was attempting to become only the second Brit to win at Queen’s, after Andy Murray, since the Second World War.
-
Kevin PalmerExclusive – Annabel Croft urges tennis players not to treat the media as their enemy
Former British No.1 Annabel Croft fears some…