Good night from VAVEL!
So Djokovic will carry this momentum into the year's first major as he seeks an eighth title in Melbourne. Congratulations to team Serbia! For all of us at VAVEL, this is John Lupo saying thank you for joining us and so long for now!
Serbia win the match 6-3 6-4 and are the ATP Cup champions!
Djokovic holds and caps off a memorable week for Serbia as they are the inaugural ATP Cup champions!
Serbia 6-3 5-4 Spain*
Lopez holds to 15, but the match and championship fittingly will be on Djokovic's racket.
Serbia 6-3 5-3 Spain*
Troicki is challenged on his serve at 30-30, but he comes through to put Serbia on the brink of the title.
Serbia* 6-3 4-3 Spain
A simple hold for Carreno Busta, but he and Lopez are running out of time.
Serbia 6-3 4-2 Spain*
Djokovic and Carreno Busta go mano-a-mano, trading groundstroke winners, but it's the world number two who had the final word. Serbia two games from the title.
Serbia* 6-3 3-2 Spain
Deft touch on a forehand volley by Carreno Busta as he keeps Spain within striking distance.
Serbia 6-3 3-1 Spain*
Troicki continues to play at a very high level. He holds. Serbia in cruise control.
Serbia* 6-3 2-1 Spain
Carreno Busta holds, but he and Lopez still face a rather large uphill climb.
Serbia* 6-3 1-0 Spain
Djokovic and Troicki waste two break points, but come through on the deciding point to give Serbia a huge edge.
Serbia wins the first set 6-3!
Djokovic has carried his serving form from his singles win over Nadal to this decisive doubles match and he holds easily. Serbia one set from the title.
Serbia* 5-3 Spain
Serbia breaks as Carreno Busta flies a backhand long! Djokovic to serve for the set.
Serbia 4-3 Spain*
Troicki is bringing his best now and he holds easily to edge Serbia in front.
Serbia* 3-3 Spain
Lopez aces his way out of 0-30, but on deciding point, Troicki rips a backhand winner. As you were.
Serbia 2-3 Spain*
No deciding point needed for Djokovic needed this time. Keeps Serbia in contact.
Serbia* 1-3 Spain
Carreno Busta's forehand is on fire. Oh, and he's serving pretty well, too. Holds to love.
Serbia 1-2 Spain*
Troicki answers with a hold to 15.
Serbia* 0-2 Spain
Lopez holds to love. Perfect start for Spain.
Serbia 0-1 Spain*
Djokovic begins on serve and saves a break point that Lopez set up with a lob-volley combination. At deciding point, Troicki hammers a forehand into the net to give Spain the early edge.
Nadal out of doubles
After his singles loss, Nadal will be replaced in doubles by Feliciano Lopez.
Stay tuned for live doubles action!
The decisive match of this ATP Cup is to begin soon in doubles. We suspect both Nadal, partnering with Pablo Carreno Busta and Djokovic, playing with Viktor Troicki, will feature.
Doubles to decide the ATP Cup
The tie is now one match apiece with the doubles to decide the inaugural ATP Cup champion.
Djokovic wins the match 6-2 7-6 (4)!
Djokovic finishes the match with aplomb as Nadal finds the net to end a clinical performance by the world number two to extend his winning streak to nine over Nadal on hard courts and the overall advantage to 29-26.
Djokovic* 5-4 Nadal 2nd set tiebreaker
A scintillating rally ends when Djokovic nails a backhand for a winner. The match is on his racket.
Djokovic 1-2 Nadal* 2nd set tiebreaker
The server wins the first two points until Djokovic double-faults to hand Nadal the mini-break.
Djokovic 6-2 6-6 Nadal
Djokovic indeed comes through, holding to 15 to force a second set tiebreaker.
Djokovic* 6-2 5-6 Nadal
Now it's Nadal's turn to claw his way out of trouble, holding from 15-40 down. Djokovic serves again to stay in the set, but will he regret missing those break chances?
Djokovic* 6-2 4-5 Nadal
The level from the Spaniard has picked up dramatically, especially on serve. A hold to love and Djokovic serves to stay in the set.
Djokovic 6-2 4-4 Nadal*
A much easier time on serve for Djokovic as he holds to love.
Djokovic* 6-2 3-4 Nadal
Nadal fires down another ace on game point. He's been badly outplayed, but is just two games away from forcing a third set.
Djokovic 6-2 3-3 Nadal*
A massive hold by Djokovic, saving five break points in the process. Nadal must be wondering what he has to do tonight.
Djokovic* 6-2 2-3 Nadal
A hold to 15 and Nadal pumps his fist. He's fully engaged now.
No fuss or bother as Djokovic holds. He continues to motor along.
Djokovic 6-2 1-1 Nadal*
No fuss or bother as Djokovic holds. He continues to motor along.
Djokovic* 6-2 0-1 Nadal
Finally, an easy hold for Nadal. One thing is for sure: he won't go anywhere.
Djokovic takes the first set 6-2!
Three aces caps a dominant set from Djokovic. This looks to be one way traffic at the moment.
Djokovic* 5-2 Nadal
Nadal finds the net and it's a double break for the Serb! He serves for the set shortly.
Djokovic 4-2 Nadal*
Another uncomplicated hold from Djokovic. He is looking very sharp so far.
Djokovic* 3-2 Nadal
Rafa gets out of trouble again. Djokovic seems to be making errors on game points. The Spaniard is hanging around.
Djokovic 3-1 Nadal*
A lightning-fast hold by the world number two. If he's serving like this, he will be almost impossible to beat.
Djokovic* 2-1 Nadal
That's much better from Nadal. He holds to love as Djokovic sprays a forehand wide.
Djokovic 2-0 Nadal*
An immediate pushback by the world number one, but Djokovic finds some timely serves to consolidate the break.
Djokovic looks to continue hard court dominance over Nadal
The Serb looks to continue his dominance over his Spanish rival on hard courts having won 8 in a row.
Djokovic* 1-0 Nadal
We are underway with this highly anticipated clash as Djokovic begins with a break on his third chance, Nadal using some questionable tactics.
Bautista Agut wins the match 7-5 6-1!
An ace on match point seals the victory for Bautista Agut and puts Spain ahead 1-0! All the pressure on Djokovic now.
Lajovic 5-7 1-5 Bautista Agut*
Lajovic sprays a forehand wide and Bautista Agut will serve for the match!
Lajovic* 5-7 1-4 Bautista Agut
Well, there's a surprise. Lajovic gets one of the breaks back to temporarily halt Bautista Agut's momentum.
Lajovic 5-7 0-4 Bautista Agut*
It's all gone sideways for the Serb now as Bautista Agut is two games away from winning the match.
Lajovic* 5-7 0-3 Bautista Agut
Our first love hold of the match. Five games in a row for Bautista Agut.
Lajovic 5-7 0-2 Bautista Agut*
The Spaniard is on a roll now. He breaks to take a commanding lead.
Lajovic* 5-7 0-1
Bautista Agut holds to open the second set.
Bautista Agut wins the first set 7-5!
The Spaniard shows his class, sharpening his groundstrokes at just the right time to get his nose out in front.
Lajovic* 5-6 Bautista Agut
A sublime backhand volley puts the game away for Bautista Agut. He's a game away from the set for a second time.
Lajovic 5-5 Bautista Agut*
Lajovic escapes another game to hold, this time with the help of replay.
Lajovic* 4-5 Bautista Agut
Back-to-back easy holds for Bautista Agut. Lajovic serves to stay in the set.
Lajovic 4-4 Bautista Agut *
Lajovic digs deep to hold after saving a break point when RBA misses a forehand.
Lajovic* 3-4 Bautista Agut
Finally, an easy hold for the Spaniard. He was probably looking for that two games ago. Nevertheless, we remain on serve.
Lajovic 3-3 Bautista Agut *
Another long service game sees Lajovic hold after saving two break points. Three games on the trot for Serbia.
Lajovic* 2-3 Bautista Agut
We are back on serve after some incredible defensive work by Lajovic on his third break point opportunity!
Strong work on the forehand side sets up 0-40 for the Spaniard. Lajovic comes forward to save the first chance, but misses after being put on the defensive. First blood to Bautista Agut.
Lajovic 0-2 Bautista Agut*
Strong work on the forehand side sets up 0-40 for the Spaniard. Lajovic comes forward to save the first chance, but misses after being put on the defensive. First blood to Bautista Agut.
Lajovic* 0-1 Bautista Agut
RBA opens with a hold. Strong work from the Spaniard gives him the last two points of the game after being pushed to 30-30.
Do not miss a detail of the match with the with VAVEL.
Follow along with us all the details, commentaries, analysis and warmups for this Spain vs Serbia match.
Lajovic seeks to continue surprisingly good hard court form
The number two behind the 16-time major champion, Lajovic has shown a high level on the hard courts this week, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime and Karen Khachanov to help the Serbs into the title match.
Lajovic seeking to deliver lead for Djokovic
The number two behind the 16-time major champion, Lajovic has shown a high level on the hard courts this week, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime and Karen Khachanov to help the Serbs into the title match.
Bautista Agut looks to continue fine play
Bautista Agut, in the top ten in the world, has set Nadal up beautifully all week and he holds a 5-0 career record against Lajovic, having won 12 of 14 career sets against his Serbian counterpart.
When to watch
The match is scheduled to begin at 3:50am following the first match between Roberto Bautista Agut and Dusan Lajovic.
Top two players in the world continue legendary rivalry
This is the 55th career meeting between Nadal and Djokovic with the Serbian holding a 28-26 edge, having won their last eight hard court meetings. However, it was the Spaniard who won their last match in the final of Rome last year.
Djokovic fights to lead Serbia into final
Similar to Nadal, Djokovic had a relatively easy time early on. A two tiebreak win over Kevin Anderson was followed by dominant victories over Cristian Garin and Gael Monfils before close escapes against Denis Shapovalov and Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. He has also assisted Serbia in picking up key doubles wins.
Nadal's performance at the ATP Cup so far
After relatively easy wins over Nikoloz Basilashvili and Pablo Cuevas, the world number one struggled to defeat Yoshihito Nishioka before a shock defeat to David Goffin. A semifinal win over Alex de Minaur clinched Spain's spot in the final. Nadal has also played doubles, amassing a perfect record.
Spain, Serbia vying for inaugural ATP Cup title
This is the first edition of the ATP Cup, which replaces both the Hopman Cup and the Sydney International. Replaced by a team-style competition, the tournament features 12 teams with 4 players each.
Welcome, everyone!
Hello and welcome to today's coverage of the ATP Cup match between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbia's Novak Djokovic! My name is John Lupo and I will be your host for this crucial match.