Italy secured the spot in the ATP Cup final against Spain after Matteo Berrettini beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 7-5 in the second singles match. Earlier today Fabio Fognini defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2 1-6 6-4 in the opening singles match.
The Italian team will face a very strong Russian team featuring two top 10 players Danil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
In the first match Fognini battled past 2020 US Open semifinalist Pablo Busta in a roller coaster match after 2 hours and 21 minutes. Fognini won his first match against Carreno Busta, who had won their previous head-to-head matches. Fognini hit 34 winners to 48 unforced errors.
In the opening set Carreno Busta earned an early break to open up a 2-0 lead, but Fognini reeled off six consecutive games with three breaks of serve to close out the opening set 6-2, when Carreno Busta made a forehand error in the eighth game. The match was delayed by 30 minutes at 1-0 in the second set.
Carreno Busta earned three consecutive breaks to clinch the second set 6-1 forcing the match to the third set.
Fognini started the third set with two breaks to build up a 4-1 lead. Carreno Busta rallied from a double break down in the third set to get within two points of getting back to serve.
Fognini earned three match points on return at 5-3, but Carreno Busta fended them off with service winners. Fognini closed the match by holding serve at 15 with a backhand drop volley winner at the net in the 10th game.
“I was playing really good tennis in the first set and that’s when they closed the roof. I think I played three, four games in the second set really tight. I was feeling really great even if I was losing those games. In the third set I played good tennis again”, said Fognini.
In the second match Matteo Berrettini beat 2019 Davis Cup and former top 10 player Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 7-5 in 1 hours and 26 minutes following his previous two wins over Dominic Thiem and Gael Monfils.
Berrettini has beaten three of the top 13 players in the ATP Ranking without dropping a set. The 2019 US Open semifinalist has extended his lead to 4-1 in his five head-to-head matches against Bautista Agut.
Berrettini fired 13 aces and dropped 10 points in 11 service games. He did not face any break points and hit 30 winners to 20 unforced errors.
Berrettini earned an early break in the fourth game of the opening set when Bautista Agut made a forehand error. The Italian player sealed the first set 6-3 with a service winner in the ninth game. Bautista Agut took a medical time-out after the first set.
Both players held on their serve in the first ten games. Bautista Agut wasted a game point in the 11th game before Berrettini earned the decisive break with a forehand passing shot down the line to take a 6-5 lead.
Berrettini fired four winners at 6-5, as he was serving for the win, to close out the second set 7-5.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling. Last year I could not make it, so I am really happy that the first time that I played, we are in the final. The job is not done yet, but we are happy for what is happening. I am feeling pumped. I am feeling great to play not just for me, but for my team and for Italy in general. That’s what matters the most. I am really looking forward to playing tomorrow against Russia. Fo sure it’s a final, so we are the two best teams. Rublev and Medvedev played unbelievable at the end of 2020. They are still playing good, but it’s a final. Anything can happen. They are great players, but we also have a great team, so it’s going to be a tough one”, said Berrettini.
The final tie score was 3-0 after Spain did not play the doubles match.
