ATP Cup: Nadal, Medevedev unhappy with rapid Perth-Sydney turnaround

Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev have criticized the ATP Cup scheduling that required a switch from Perth to Sydney to play the quarterfinals.

The team competition started off in three locations—Perth, Brisbane and Sydney—but with the quarterfinals onwards being played in Sydney.

Spain, playing in Perth, defeated Japan to secure its spot in the quarterfinals before traveling to Sydney to play Belgium. The team had just a day in between ties, and had to adjust to the conditions in addition to a three-hour time difference.

Nadal was defeated David Goffin in straight sets before getting a doubles victory to send his team through. The world No. 1, though praising Goffin, also said he had problems adjusting to playing under the roof at Ken Rosewall Arena with such a rapid turnaround.

"I was suffering a lot physically today. Was big humidity," Nadal told press at Sydney. "But at the same time it is fair to say that we are in the worst position to play the final eight, because we came from Perth. That’s these three hours’ time changing, different weather conditions, playing against a team that have been here for ten days, arriving here during the evening with jet lag, with everything."

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The Russian team had been in a similar position the day before when it  played the Argentines, with Medevedev happy to get a three-set win despite a delay in arriving in Sydney.

"I'm really happy with myself, because regarding the conditions we got as a team, coming from Perth, three-hour difference, we had some problems with the flight because of the rain in Sydney, so we had to stay the night in Melbourne," said Medvedev. "So physically was really tough. I felt like I was not getting the balls I can. I was not hitting as strong as I can usually."

The Russia and Argentina tie followed a long, tense quarterfinal between Australian and Great Britain on the same court, which Australia winning an 18-16 match tiebreak in the doubles.

"The match was unbelievable. As soon as it finished, we're, like, 'Okay, okay, calm down. We have our match to play,'" said Medvedev.

The 23-year-old was agitated during his singles encounter, getting into an exchange with his opponent and the umpire, and receiving a point penalty when he hit the umpire's chair.

But Serbia's Dusan Lajovic, going from Brisbane to Sydney for the quarterfinals, preferred the switch. "I can tell that I was feeling much more comfortable today than the whole time in Brisbane. I felt pretty relaxed and positive on the court from the first point," he said, following the first of his two singles wins so far in Sydney, helping Serbia reach the final.

Serbia defeated Russia in the semifinals of the ATP Cup.