Petra Kvitova yesterday upset world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, but the US still won their United Cup tie against the Czech Republic in Sydney.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova clinched a thriller, saving seven set points in the first set before winning 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 at the Ken Rosewall Arena.
After the US won the opening two rubbers on Thursday, Kvitova’s victory gave her nation hope in the inaugural tournament, which features two men’s and two women’s singles matches along with a mixed doubles, but the US clinched the tie when Tomas Machac injured his ankle against world No. 19 Francis Tiafoe and was forced to retire hurt while losing 6-3, 2-4.
Photo: AP
Kvitova, ranked 16, looked back to her best against Pegula, who burst into the top 10 this year by winning the WTA 1000 tournament in Guadalajara for the biggest title of her career.
After a topsy-turvy first set that could have gone either way, she got a double break at the start of the second and while Pegula got one back, Kvitova was able to hold on and take the match in 2 hours.
Tiafoe, a US Open semi-finalist this year, started brilliantly against Machac, racing through the first set with relative ease.
Machac fought back in the second and was a break up before rolling his ankle and retiring.
“He picked up his game and broke me twice — I was a little sloppy there,” Tiafoe said. “At 3-2 he played a great game to break me and we were in the midst of a battle in that 4-2 game. Unfortunately, that happened — you don’t want to see that and I hope he’ll be all good for the Australian Open.”
The Czech Republic face Alexander Zverev’s Germany today, while the US have two days off before they close out group play against Germany.
Italy wrapped up their tie against Brazil when they won both singles matches in Brisbane, with the tournament being played across three cities.
Matteo Berrettini downed Thiago Monteiro in a grueling clash 6-4, 7-6 (9/7), before Lucia Bronzetti saw off an outclassed Laura Pigossi 6-0, 6-2.
Brazil face Norway at the weekend, while Italy take on Norway on Monday and Tuesday.
In Perth, world No. 6 Maria Sakkari gave Greece an unassailable 3-0 lead over Bulgaria when she beat Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-2.
“I was a little nervous in the beginning, especially being 2-0 up in the tie, I knew my match was crucial in winning the tie,” Sakkari said. “She was very solid, but I found my game and got better.”
Her teammates Stefanos Tsitsipas and Despina Papamichail won their matches on Thursday.
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