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Spain, who went down to Serbia in the championship match in the
inaugural edition of the team event in 2020, will meet either
defending champions Russia or Canada in Sunday's final.
Bautista Agut, 33, came into the match with a 2-0 head-to-head
record against world number nine Hurkacz but had to dig deep to
earn the victory after a high-quality match that lasted two
hours and 44 minutes.
Hurkacz saved five match points, the first of them with an
incredible low backhand drop volley that brought the crowd at
the Ken Rosewall Arena to their feet.
But Bautista Agut kept putting him under pressure and then
sealed the contest and the tie when the 24-year-old found the
net with a return.
"It's a match that I will always remember," Bautista Agut said
on court.
"I think both of us could get the win today. He also really
deserved a lot of good things. But this is our game, this is
tennis. Today I was the one who got the win. I think I also
deserved it. I did a lot of good things on the court."
Poland were dealt a blow even before they took the court for the
semi-finals with Kamil Majchrzak, who won all three of his
singles matches at this year's tournament, ruled out after
testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
Jan Zielinski, who had never played a Tour-level singles match
before Friday, replaced Majchrzak for the opening singles but he
was no match for Pablo Carreno Busta.
Carreno Busta, ranked 20th, was unperturbed by the late change
of opponent and gave Spain a rollicking start with a 6-2 6-1
victory in just 53 minutes.
"When you expect to play against one player and at the last
moment they change it, (it is tough)," the 2020 U.S. Open
semi-finalist said. "They were unlucky, so sorry about that.
"But I had to do my tennis, my job and I think that I played
really good, very focussed on my game. It's important to always
be one up (for the team)."
The former world number 10 is yet to lose a set and is also 4-0
-- as is Bautista Agut -- at this year's ATP Cup which featured
16 teams and has $10 million in prize money on offer.
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Toby Davis)
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