Spain’s world number one Rafael Nadal began his 2020 season by clinching his nation’s opening win against Georgia at the inaugural ATP Cup.
Nadal beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3 7-5 to give Spain a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-three tie held in Australia.
Novak Djokovic edged past South African Kevin Anderson to clinch victory for Serbia, while Austria lost to Croatia after Dominic Thiem was beaten.
France beat Chile 2-1 in Group A, while Japan and Argentina also won. 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).