He left it to his friend to deliver the bagels, but world No.1 Rafael Nadal was able to produce goods of his own in Spain’s ATP Cup thrashing of Georgia.
Nadal recovered from an early break and a late wobble to beat world No.26 Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3 7-5 in front of 8032 fans in Perth on Saturday night.
His victory gave Spain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie after world No.9 Roberto Bautista Agut thrashed world No.679 Aleksandre Metreveli 6-0 6-0, posting what is known as a double bagel.
Metreveli was playing his first ever fixture on the ATP tour, but it was a memorable night for all the wrong reasons.
Basilashvili and Nadal traded early blows before the 19-time grand slam winner won three games on the trot to take the first set in 41 minutes.
Nadal looked set for an easy win after racing to a 5-2 lead in the second set.
But Basilashvili broke back twice to level it at 5-5, before Nadal regained his composure to close out the contest.
“It was tough. He’s a great player,” Nadal said.
“I had some mistakes, and if you make mistakes against him you are in trouble.”
Nadal was a key part of Spain’s recent Davis Cup triumph, and he said he enjoys the team aspect of events like the ATP Cup.
“We had a great experience playing together on the team representing our country,” Nadal said.
“It’s always a motivation to play for your friends and your country. We are going to try our best here.”
Nadal has the chance to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 grand slam singles titles when he competes at the Australian Open later this month.
But the 33-year-old insists the ATP Cup is his priority for now, saying the $22 million event isn’t merely a warm-up for the first major of the year.