Spain beats Poland to advance to ATP Cup final

In the opening singles match, Pablo Carreno Busta gave Spain the advantage with a 6-2, 6-1 win against late replacement Jan Zielinski. Kamil Majchrzak went 3-0 for Poland in the group stages, but was forced into isolation due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Russia and Canada will meet on Saturday to play for the other spot in Sunday’s final.

MOOD 🇪🇸🙌#ATPCup | @BautistaAgut | #TeamSpain pic.twitter.com/g3vvsbPqqo

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 7, 2022

Two years ago, Bautista Agut played a leading role during Spain’s run to the final, which Serbia won. The 33-year-old Bautista Agut has won all four of his matches at No. 1 singles in this tournament to lead the way for the two-time finalists.

🇪🇸 Spanish Sensation 🇪🇸@BautistaAgut defeats Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(5) to win the tie and send #TeamSpain into the 2022 #ATPCup final. pic.twitter.com/AeG8IvflkT

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 7, 2022

Majchrzak, who is experiencing minor symptoms from his illness, announced his positive COVID-19 test moments before he was due to step on court to face Carreno Busta.

Back into the #ATPCup final 👊#TeamSpain pic.twitter.com/JxEpFTdDle

— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 7, 2022

“It’s a match I’ll always remember; both of us could have got the win today,” Carreno Busta said. “This is our game, this is tennis and today I was the one who got the win.”

Hurkacz saved five match points before finally succumbing to Bautista Agut.

“Sometimes you get the win on the first (match) point. He played two or three lines in a row, but sometimes you stay focused like today, you keep working and finally you lose the tiebreak,” Bautista Agut said. “But today I kept working and I got the win.”