Greece beat Georgia to finish ATP Cup on high
Jan 05, 2022
Sydney [Australia], January 5 : Greece earned its first Group D victory on Wednesday at the ATP Cup over Georgia, following wins for Stefanos Tsitsipas and Michail Pervolarakis, who recorded his first tour-level victory in Sydney.
World No. 4 Tsitsipas was leading Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-1 in the first set, but the Georgian returned to his Team Zone complaining of breathing difficulties after two points of the sixth game. "It's not easy playing when you're not 100 per cent, but I completely understand," said Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas and Pervolarakis will contest the doubles match for Greece against Aleksandre Bakshi and Aleksandre Metreveli of Georgia. Greece lost to Poland 2-1 and Argentina 3-0 in its two previous Group D ties.
In the No. 2 singles match, 25-year-old Pervolarakis earned his first ATP Cup singles victory for Greece with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Aleksandre Metreveli of Georgia in 68 minutes on Qudos Bank Arena. Pervolarakis said, "It's unbelievable. It's my first ATP Tour singles match win."
Pervolarakis made the most of his opportunity, breaking Metreveli for a 4-2 lead in the first set with a forehand return winner down the line. The 25-year-old recovered from 0/30 when serving for the set, which lasted 37 minutes, closing out on his fourth opportunity.
Two breaks of serve -- in the first and seventh games -- were enough in the second set, which ended with a Metreveli backhand error. Action from the ATP Cup 2022 -- Day 6 will be live on Eurosport on Thursday.
