Nadal inspires Spain to quarterfinal place at the ATP Cup

Rafael Nadal secured Spain's spot in the quarterfinal as Group B winners at the ATP Cup in Perth on Wednesday as they beat Japan 3-0. The world no.1 twice recovered a break deficit in the first set, before overcoming Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(4), 6-4 in a tremendous battle over two hours and eight minutes in Perth.

Earlier in the day, World No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut also extended his winning start to the 2020 ATP Tour season with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Go Soeda in the first singles.

In the doubles contest, Nadal paired up with Pablo Carreno Busta to beat Ben McLachlan and Soeda 7-6, 4-6, (10-6) to make it a clean sweep for Spain.