Will this be the most underrated match on the cards here between Spain and Australia, as Roberto Bautista Agut meets John Millman in the Team Spain vs Team Australia in Group B at the 2021 ATP Cup. Will Millman be able to rally Team Australia to a potential upset, or will RBA be in complete control here as usual?
John Millman is a scary player when he is on top of his game, and he can beat some of the best players in the world, as he has shown in the past, beating Roger Federer at the 2018 US Open, and nearly doing the same again at the 2020 Australian Open, only to lose the fourth set and lose an incredibly tight 5-set 10 point tiebreak. Millman, when confident and backing himself on a hard-court, can shock opponents who take him lightly. Will he be able to do that here against RBA?
Roberto Bautista Agut is one of the most consistent players you will watch on the ATP Tour. Unlike the likes of any other player ranked between 10-20 in the world, RBA will always show up at any tournament and make it to the later stages, potentially even challenging for the title. RBA is known for being a pain to play against because of his amazing returning game, and his ability to wear down his opponents with incredibly long rallies. Adding this to his incredible serving ability at times, it can be a very tough physical and mental challenge any time you step on the court against the Spaniard.
This is going to be the 6th meeting between both players, and looking at the head to head, it does not look good at all for John Millman. Roberto Bautista Agut leads the head to head 5-0 in official ATP Tour tournaments. They have only ever had one extremely tight encounter, at the 2019 Australian Open, in which RBA won in a 5 set thriller, however, RBA has otherwise dominated most of their encounters. RBA is known for beginning each year on a high, playing his best tennis and rarely losing, and I believe this will be yet again the case. RBA to win and help Team Spain in eliminating Team Australia.