On day two of the new tournament, Benoit Paire opened up for France with a 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-3 win over Nicolas Jarry before world number 10 Gael Monfils sealed victory in Brisbane by beating Cristian Garin 6-3 7-5. Japan, without injured former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, won all three matches against Uruguay in Group B in Perth, while Argentina beat Poland 2-1 in Group E in Sydney. In the evening session, 32-year-old Djokovic had to dig deep to overcome former Wimbledon and US Open finalist Anderson, who was playing for the first time since July after a knee injury.Anderson, 33, played aggressively and found the lines to leave Djokovic rattled at several points in a close-fought match, but the 16-time Grand Slam champion edged the tie-breaks to win 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6). Nadal looked to be heading to a smooth win after breaking Basilashvili twice in each set, only for the 19-time Grand Slam champion to show that even the greatest can have difficultly in closing out matches.The Spaniard stuttered as he twice failed to serve out victory from 5-2 ahead and allowed Basilashvili to level at 5-5, before breaking straight back and eventually wrapping up the win at the third time of asking. Nadal’s win, which came after Roberto Bautista Agut thrashed Aleksandre Metreveli 6-0 6-0 in the opening match, meant the Davis Cup champions clinched victory regardless of what happened in the doubles rubber.The 24-nation event is spread across three Australian cities – Brisbane, Perth and Sydney – and features six groups of four teams, who each play three round-robin ties.

Source: The Guardian January 05, 2020 03:22 UTC