Spain and Argentina both won their ATP Cup ties with some ease as men's professional tennis returned for the 2022 season in the lucrative team tournament at Sydney's Olympic Park on Saturday.
Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta made light of the absence of Rafa Nadal with contrasting victories over Chileans Cristian Garín and Alejandro Tabilo.
"It was very early on the first day of the year to play tennis," said Bautista Agut, the world number 19. Federico Delbonis earlier made light work of Aleksandre Metreveli with a 6-1 6-2 win at the Sydney Super Dome to give Argentina a 1-0 lead in their Group D tie against Georgia. The third edition of the $10 million tournament has 16 teams divided into four groups playing at two venues at Sydney's Olympic Park.