World No. 9 Taylor Fritz yesterday battled past Italian Matteo Berrettini with a powerhouse performance to steer the US to the inaugural mixed teams United Cup title in Sydney.
Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula both won their singles rubbers to give their country a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five tie with Fritz delivering victory in winning 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (8/6).
“It’s amazing for the team to win this event, we came in with really high hopes,” Fritz said. “Really happy to be in the position to clinch the match. The emotions when you win are amazing.”
Photo: Reuters
“We had a lot of team bonding this week,” he added. “When we combine the guys and girls from the US we are so deep through the rankings it just makes team so much stronger.”
A dominant US crushed the Iga Swiatek-led Poland 5-0 to make the decider of the new tournament — which began with 18 nations playing round robin matches in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney — while Italy outgunned Stefanos Tsitsipas’s Greece 4-1.
Women’s world No. 3 Pegula, who burst into the top 10 last year by winning the Guadalajara Open Akron, stormed home 6-4, 6-2 against Martina Trevisan.
Photo: AFP
Tiafoe then surged through the first set 6-2 against Lorenzo Musetti before the Italian retired due to a right shoulder injury.
“Definitely very relieved, first match of the day, first match of the final,” Pegula said.
Tiafoe picked up where Pegula left off, breaking Musetti’s serve early, saving all three break points he faced.
Photo: Reuters
The Italian increasingly touched his right shoulder as the set wore on before receiving treatment and calling it a day at end of the set.
“I thought it was a really high level ... obviously at the end there I could see he was touching his shoulder a lot,” said Tiafoe. “I didn’t want to win this way. I hope Lorenzo feels better.”
ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL
Photo: Reuters
AFP, ADELAIDE, Australia
Aryna Sabalenka yesterday said she was ready for a “big fight” at the Australian Open after firing a warning shot by winning her first title since 2021 at the Adelaide International.
The world No. 5 ended a slump of three consecutive defeats in WTA finals with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victory against rising Czech teenager Linda Noskova in torrid 36°C conditions.
The Belarusian double-faulted on the first of three match points, but sent over a serve winner on the second to wrap up the afternoon.
She last lifted a trophy at the Madrid Masters in May 2021 and is optimistic about her Australian Open chances after her week in South Australia.
“I just feel that I’m ready to show my best. I’m ready for a big fight,” she said.
Meanwhile, Top seed Novak Djokovic saved a match point and was forced to the limit as he held on to defeat Sebastian Korda 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner needed more than three hours to stamp his authority on his unseeded American opponent, son of former world No. 2 Petr Korda.
In doing so, Djokovic extended his unbeaten streak in Australia to 34 straight matches and won his fifth consecutive final dating to Tel Aviv last year.
AUCKLAND CLASSIC
AFP, AUCKLAND, New Zealand
Top seed Coco Gauff yesterday mixed patience with her trademark power to win the final of the rain-hit Auckland Classic against Spain’s Rebeka Masarova, ahead of the Australian Open.
American teenager Gauff negotiated two lengthy stoppages before seeing off Spanish qualifier Masarova 6-1, 6-1 to complete a dominant week in which she was barely challenged.
The world No. 7 did not drop a set at the tournament and effortlessly cast aside 130th-ranked Masarova to clinch her third WTA title and her first for nearly two years.
Gauff was serving at set point in the first set when a downpour forced them off more than two hours.
The marathon match appeared to be draining for 23-year-old Masarova, whose first appearance in a WTA final was her seventh match in eight days, including qualifying.
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