In the course of 11 drama-filled days at the United Cup, across three Australian cities, 18 teams have been reduced to just two: the third-seeded United States and fifth seeds Italy.

Sunday’s final takes place at 1 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) in Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.

The U.S. clinched its spot in the title round first, uncertain if it would be facing Italy or Greece.

“I don’t really think it matters,” captain David Witt said. “I think our players are pretty confident and excited to be in the final. We will just have to wait to see who we play, and then go out there and do it up.”

Both squads have been “doing it up” with remarkable consistency.

The United States — leading 2-0 after the first day of semi-final play — swept its three Saturday matches to defeat Poland 5-0. Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys won their singles matches over Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette, respectively, before Fritz and Jessica Pegula won their mixed doubles match.

Later, Lucia Bronzetti clinched a 4-1 victory for Italy over Greece with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Valentini Grammatikopoulou. While Italy opened play Saturday with a Matteo Berrettini loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Italians finished strong, first with Bronzetti and then a mixed doubles win by Camilla Rosatello and Andrea Vavassori.

There is little history between these players on the U.S. and Italy. The two women’s matches are both first-time affairs. Meanwhile, Fritz holds a 2-0 advantage over Berrettini, at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals and 2021 Indian Wells. Lorenzo Musetti defeated Frances Tiafoe in their only ATP Head2Head meeting, two years ago in Acapulco, but it was decided by a third-set tiebreak.

Both teams have benefitted from elite singles play at the United Cup. The United States is 14-2, while Italy is 12-4.

Breaking it down individually, the Americans all have winning records: Tiafoe 4-0, Keys 4-0, Pegula 3-1 and Fritz 3-1.

The Italians are not far behind: Musetti 4-0, Berrettini 3-1, Bronzetti 3-1 and Martina Trevisan 2-2.

If it comes down to the final match, mixed doubles, the United States has a clear advantage, as Pegula and Fritz are a tidy 3-0. Italian Captain Vincenzo Santopadre has scheduled Berrettini and Trevisan. Berretini lost his only mixed doubles match and Trevisan has yet to play.

According to Berrettini, Team Italy is feeling the spirit of those vintage championship Billie Jean King Cup teams that featured Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani. From 2006-13, they won four titles.

“They were great inspirations for all of us,” Berrettini said. “I believe they were great. I think when you play team competitions, it’s important to create a group off court and then you can perform better on court. That’s what we did from the very first moment.

“We immediately created this group chat and started talking about when we will get here and we kind of celebrated Christmas on the flights together. We started to hang out together and create this bond that is really important.”

The Americans, too, have bonded.

“I didn’t know how locked everybody was,” Tiafoe said. “It’s just crazy.”

Sunday, Jan. 8
Ken Rosewall Arena, 1 p.m.
Jessica Pegula (USA) vs. Martina Trevisan (ITA) / Head-to-head: 0-0
Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs. Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) / Head-to-head: Musetti, 1-0

5:30 p.m.
Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Matteo Berrettini (ITA) / Head-to-head: Fritz, 2-0
Madison Keys (USA) vs. Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) / Head-to-head: 0-0
Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Martina Trevisan (ITA) and Matteo Berrettini (ITA)

Tallon Griekspoor overcame his first lost set of the week at the Tata Open Maharashtra to claim his first ATP Tour title Saturday in an entertaining and high-quality final against Benjamin Bonzi. The Dutchman served to stay in the match in the second set but ultimately outlasted his French opponent 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 before collapsing to the court in celebration of his milestone moment.

“[It was the] first final for both, some pressure,” Griekspoor said after clinching the trophy with a dominant serving display that included 17 aces. “All I did was keep fighting every point, trying to get my best tennis, and in the end it came, so I’m really happy with that.

“I think even in the first set I played well. I just played one really bad game at 4-5 which made it tough for myself. Bonzi was playing really well.”

After getting broken to surrender the first set, the 26-year-old showed great resilience in the same situation in set two. From 4-5 in the second, he won three straight games to force a decider, then continued his momentum by building a 3-1 lead in the final set.

Bonzi created two break points in a four-deuce game at 3-2, but Griekspoor stood firm to hold and ultimately sealed victory with his third break of the match when his opponent’s forehand sailed long.

𝗘.𝗟.𝗔.𝗧.𝗜.𝗢.𝗡.🙌

A dream come true moment for Griekspoor 🥇#TOM2023 #AdvantagePune #Tennis #ATPTour #TataOpenMaharashtra | @Griekii @atptour @AITA__Tennis @msltatennis @IndTennisDaily pic.twitter.com/mHo9UQ6lL5

— Tata Open Maharashtra (@MaharashtraOpen) January 7, 2023

The two-hour, 16-minute final was played at a high level throughout despite it being the first tour-level title match for both men.

“Of course a little bit more nerves than normal, but it wasn’t too bad actually,” said Griekspoor, who dropped serve just twice on the week. “I think we both played really well, our service games… Nerves are always there, today a little bit more, but I’m happy with how I handled it.”

The Dutchman rocketed 34 places up the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to No. 61 as he closes in on his career high of World No. 44, achieved in August. He knocked off two seeded opponents in Pune — seventh seed Jaume Munar in the opening round and eighth seed Aslan Karatsev in the semis — and was the beneficiary of a withdrawal from top seed Marin Cilic ahead of their scheduled quarter-final matchup.

The 26-year-old Bonzi jumped 10 spots in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to enter the Top 50 but missed out on an opportunity to break into the Top 40 for the first time and become the French No. 1.

The final was the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting, though Bonzi defeated Griekspoor in a third-set tie-break on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017.

Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen opened the 2023 season in style with a flawless trophy run at the Tata Open Maharashtra, winning the Pune ATP 250 title without dropping a set in four matches.

The longtime partners defeated the Indian duo of N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-4, 6-4 in Saturday’s Pune final to win their sixth ATP Tour title as a team. The fourth seeds improved to 6-2 in tour-level finals, with all of their final runs coming as a pair.

“It’s been a fantastic week,” said Gille. “We didn’t really know what to expect, as this is the first time that we came to India. But right from the start we felt good. It was a great atmosphere and a well organised tournament. We played very well and we’re super happy to get the sixth title.”

Breaks of serve in the third game of each set proved enough for Gille/Vliegen to claim the title, with the Belgians capitalising in both games in which they created a break chance. They won two of four break points and did not face a break point on their own serve for the third time on the week.

Broken just once in Pune in the quarter-finals, the Belgians upset top seeds and reigning Nitto ATP Finals champs Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6(3), 7-6(4) in the semis before backing up the win with a clinical performance in the final.

“Throughout the whole week, the serve has been a very important factor,” Gille added, discussing the slick court conditions in Pune.

Almost 2️⃣ years after their last #ATPTour title together, @sandergille & @joranvliegen are on 🔝 of the podium yet again! 👌

Well played, champs 🎉#TOM2023 #AdvantagePune #Tennis #ATPTour #TataOpenMaharashtra | @msltatennis @AITA__Tennis @IndTennisDaily @atptour pic.twitter.com/1bB5sTVaGu

— Tata Open Maharashtra (@MaharashtraOpen) January 7, 2023

Gille and Vliegen first teamed up in 2013 at an ITF event in Belgium, and they now hold an 83-83 tour-level record as a team. Both players hold career-high Pepperstone ATP Rankings inside the Top 30, with their five previous ATP Tour titles coming in 2019 Bastad, 2019 Gstaad, 2019 Zhuhai, 2020 Astana and 2021 Singapore.

Balaji and Nedunchezhiyan were competing in their first tour-level final as a team after a late entry into the event as alternates, with both ranked just outside the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. Balaji, 32, contested his first ATP Tour doubles final, while Nedunchezhiyan, 34, was seeking his second tour-level doubles crown after a 2017 Chennai triumph with countryman Rohan Bopanna.

Lucia Bronzetti clinched Italy’s place in the United Cup final in style with a 78-minute 6-2, 6-3 victory over Valentini Grammatikopoulou.

Italy led Greece 2-0 overnight, but Stefanos Tsitsipas clawed one point back by defeating Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 in the third match of the tie.

“It was not easy, because it was the most important point,” Bronzetti said. “I felt pressure because I had to win.”

Italy lost its City Final in Brisbane against Poland, but earned a spot in Sydney as the best-placed runner-up. They have taken full advantage, and will now try to lift the trophy on Sunday.

With Greece’s No. 2 women’s singles player Despina Papamichail unable to play, the last-minute substitution of Valentini Grammatikopoulou could have been an advantage: the No.199-ranked 25-year-old had beaten Bronzetti in both of their previous meetings, including in the final of last August’s Vancouver 125 event to seal the biggest title of her career.

However, an unbothered Bronzetti came out in top form, smothering Grammatikopoulou with depth and changes of direction. It was the Greek player who played as though taken by surprise by an unexpected opponent, racking up 15 errors to only three winners in a nervy first set.

Grammatikopoulou settled to make the second a closer contest, pounding away several sharp forehand winners. But Bronzetti responded by raising her own level, breaking in the third game after an off forehand winner followed by a dead net cord. A series of terrific passing shots helped her maintain her lead through to the finish, and an errant Grammatikopoulou drive volley sealed the Italian’s first match point.

“I knew that it would have been a tough match,” Bronzetti said. “I’m proud of myself, because I think that I had a good attitude in the court, and I also played good.”

Photo Credit: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Tsitsipas gave his country a chance when he produced a heroic effort against Berrettini. The Greek kept alive the tie when he rallied past the Italian after two hours and 35 minutes.

“What a great atmosphere out here, I’m loving it,” Tsitsipas said. “We won this together guys.”

For the first half of the No. 1 men’s singles match, Berrettini was in control. Full of confidence after victories against Thiago Monteiro and Top 10 stars Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz earlier in the mixed-teams competition, the Italian used his booming serve and thunderous forehand to keep the Greek on the back foot.

Despite having the racquet taken out of his hand for much of the match, Tsitsipas began to encourage the Ken Rosewall Arena crowd to involve itself midway into the second set. That proved the turning point.

The Greek fans enthusiastically complied, waving flags and supporting its top-ranked male player. Cries of “Hellas! Hellas! Hellas!” began reverberating through the crowd.

“It was personally a great match, a great atmosphere,” Berrettini said. “We knew that in Australia there is a big Greek community, so we felt it yesterday obviously when the No. 1 player was playing. It was even bigger. It was really nice.”

Suddenly, despite being down a set, momentum was on Tsitsipas’ side. Berrettini, who rarely let slip his concentration during the match, misfired throughout the tie-break, which the Greek took full advantage of.

After firing up the crowd, Tsitsipas, who was seemingly hanging on for much of the first two sets, used the support to his advantage. Berrettini earned a break chance at 3-2 in the decider, but missed a forehand up the line. Tsitsipas surged from there to claim his country’s first win of the tie.

“Somehow I hung in there. I was waiting for my chances. He’s a big server as we all know. He hits some bombs consistently, so you have to accept a few and you have to move on from that point, concentrate on your serve,” Tsitsipas said. “I played a very good game in that game that I broke. I was able to play with a lot of intensity and I think my concentration peaked at that particular game.”

Andrey Rublev will aim to bounce back from a disappointing first-round exit at the Adelaide International 1 when he headlines the draw at the Adelaide International 2 this week. The World No. 8, who is the top seed at the ATP 250 event, will face an Australian wild card in his opening match, with the winner of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alexei Popyrin taking on the 12-time tour-level titlist.

The 25-year-old is seeded to meet sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarter-finals. The Serbian begins against the returning Kyle Edmund. Rublev is also joined in the top half by fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, with the Spaniard opening against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi or American Maxime Cressy.

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At the bottom of the draw, second seed Pablo Carreno Busta opens against a qualifier, with fifth seed Daniel Evans a potential quarter-final opponent. The Briton faces American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round and could meet Sebastian Korda in the second round. The 22-year-old Korda, who plays Yoshihito Nishioka in the semi-finals in Adelaide Saturday, opens against Emil Ruusuvuori.

Third seed Karen Khachanov will play Arthur Rinderknech or Marc-Andrea Huesler, while #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper starts against Lorenzo Sonego. The Next Gen ATP Finals champion Brandon Nakashima will compete for the first time since he lifted the trophy in Milan when he plays seventh-seeded Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Australian Jason Kubler earned two wins at the United Cup in Sydney. The 29-year-old will look to continue his impressive start to the season against a qualifier.

Team United States sprinted to a 2-0 lead against Team Poland on Friday in the United Cup Final Four, and American Taylor Fritz finished the job Saturday morning.

The reigning BNP Paribas Open champion clawed past Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in the No. 1 men’s singles match to give his country an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Jessica Pegula upset World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Frances Tiafoe eased past Kacper Zuk to earn the Americans their first two points. Fritz was followed by Madison Keys, who earned a 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Magda Linette.

“It was great to get the win today to get us through. I had no doubt that if I were to lose that the rest of the team would have come through. But I’ve played with Team USA a lot. I think it’s a huge advantage this time having the girls on our team because it just makes the whole team so much stronger. I’m super excited going into the final and I think we’ve been the favourites all week.”

In the championship match, Team United States will face Team Italy or Team Greece. Italy leads Greece 2-0 in their semi-final tie.

“I think whoever serves better is probably going to get over the line,” Tiafoe predicted for the Fritz-Hurkacz clash Friday afternoon.

That proved prophetic. Fritz won 88 per cent of his first-serve points and was able to manoeuvre into comfortable positions in points behind his serve.

Hurkacz earned two set points on return at 5-4 in the first set. The Pole missed a mid-rally crosscourt forehand on his first opportunity and a forehand return just long on his second. Letting slip those chances proved his downfall.

The tension could be cut with a knife inside Ken Rosewall Arena during the first-set tie-break, as neither man relinquished a mini-break through the first 11 points. Fritz was able to take the initiative on his first set point and forced an error from Hurkacz’s backhand into the net.

Hurkacz also had opportunities to earn the match’s first break at 5-5, 15/40 on Fritz’s serve in the second set, but the American saved them with a big serve and forehand volley. The Pole once again seemed in position to force a decider with two serves at 5/4 in the tie-break, but he missed two forehands, which allowed Fritz to close out the match and with it, the tie.

Keys had split two previous encounters with Linette, both in the last two months. Indeed, Linette’s win had also been in team competition — a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November.

Both players brought an undefeated United Cup record into the match, and it was Keys who preserved hers with a dominant display of power. She did not face a break point throughout a tight first set while consistently creating chances on return. Though Linette was able to fend off the first two break points she faced, in the second and sixth games, Keys converted her fourth of the day — also a set point — by hammering a backhand return.

A classy drop shot paved the way to Linette’s only break of serve in the first game of the second set, but Keys responded by upping her focus to immediately break back and reel off six of the final seven games of the match.

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Tennis remembers Dick Savitt, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 1951 and gave much of his life to the game.

An extraordinary, self-taught champion who competed with unbridled intensity and won two majors including Wimbledon in 1951, a man admired by players and the public alike for his magnificent backhand and remarkable match playing acumen, Hall of Famer Dick Savitt has died at age 95.

Richard “Dick” Savitt was born March 4, 1927 in Bayonne, New Jersey, and grew up in that state. He developed an imposing game from the backcourt and had impenetrable groundstrokes along with an underrated serve, stamping his authority as one of the best American players of the 1950s. His many exploits propelled Savitt into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the Class of 1976. 

Savitt’s deep intensity and adaptability as a competitor carried him to lofty heights on the premier stages of the sport. During his youth, Savitt played basketball and baseball, and was consumed by those sports until he was 13. Then tennis became a priority when he moved with his family to Texas in time for his sophomore year of high school.

He captured the Texas State Junior Championships and became the No. 4 ranked player in the United States18-and-under division. After finishing high school, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1945-46. Thereafter, he went to Cornell University starting in the autumn of 1946, graduating in 1950 after securing four Eastern Intercollegiate Championships in a row.

In 1950, Savitt moved into the U.S. Top 10 at No. 6. Very imposing with his aggressive ground game, powerful serve, and fighting spirit, Savitt soared to another level of the game. 

He took the 1951 Australian Championships title convincingly, claiming his maiden major with a trio of impressive triumphs down the stretch over Australian standouts John Bromwich, Frank Sedgman and Ken McGregor. He was the first man from outside the land “Down Under” to prevail at that tournament since countryman Don Budge was the victor in 1938. Proud of his heritage, Savitt established himself as the first Jewish player ever to collect one of the sport’s premier prizes.

Despite a quarterfinal defeat at the French Championships on the clay in Paris, he swiftly transitioned to the lawns of Wimbledon, making his debut at the All England Club and peaking propitiously on that landmark occasion. He collided with countryman Herbie Flam in the penultimate round, falling precariously behind. Flam was ahead 6-1, 5-1 before Savitt engineered a spectacular comeback to prevail in four sets.

Savitt upended McGregor in a straight-sets title match to celebrate his seminal moment as a tennis player at 24.

“I was glad when it was over because two weeks is a grind,” Savitt said after claiming the trophy. “But I was thrilled to win the tournament I thought was the biggest of them all.”

Savitt was beaten in the semi-finals of the U.S. Nationals that year by countryman Vic Seixas after appearing on the cover of Time Magazine, a deep honour. Had he been victorious at that tournament, Savitt might have turned professional at the end of the year. But losing to Seixas cost him that chance.

“Pro tennis was touring every night and not so much a tournament circuit then,” he later said. “It was a tough life. I can’t say I regret not doing it.”

And yet, Savitt was disappointed about not representing the U.S in the Challenge Round of Davis Cup at the end of that memorable 1951 season. He played for the American squad in earlier rounds that year, but was not chosen to compete against Australia as the U.S. was beaten 3-2.  

He competed on the amateur tournament circuit regularly through the summer of 1952 and reached at least the quarter-finals in all four majors that season, but then decided to go earn a living elsewhere.

Initially he was involved in the oil business before devoting nearly the rest of his life to Wall Street work while living in New York. But Savitt stayed immersed in tennis on a part-time basis. He won the U.S. Indoor Championships in 1952, 1958 and 1961. Despite playing very few tournaments, Savitt stayed in good shape and was able to maintain his place as one of the top amateur players in the United States. He finished the 1950s stationed among the top six in the country for three consecutive years, achieving the No. 3 ranking in 1957 as a so-called “weekend player”. In 1961 he won singles and doubles gold medals at the Maccabiah Games held in Tel Aviv, Israel.

After he stopped competing, Savitt was helpful to American players of different eras including Arthur Ashe and Vitas Gerulaitis, practising with both men in New York, regularly offering his advise. He would tell an always receptive Ashe whenever he ran into him: “Bend your knees on that low forehand volley, kid. Bend your knees.”

Meanwhile, Savitt maintained a healthy competitive diet himself. At the age of 54 in 1981, he sealed one of his most satisfying titles, winning the U.S. National National Father & Son Grass Court Championships with his son, Robert.

Because he played tennis so often over the years on the courts at Columbia University in New York, and frequently served as an informal advisor to their tennis teams, the university named their tennis centre after him in 2002 despite the fact that he had graduated decades earlier from Cornell University. It was an honour he valued appreciably.

He also was very proud of his long association with Israel Tennis Centres, which started in the 1970s and included 14 facilities. Savitt guided many Israeli players, including Top 20 talent Amos Mansdorf. He made two visits a year to Israel for over 25 years, offering a significant amount of his time and wisdom for no financial gain.

In fact, Savitt gave substantially to tennis across his entire lifetime on a multitude of levels, achieving on a lofty scale, freely sharing his enduring passion for the game with everyone he encountered.