Jessica Pegula produced a flawless performance on Friday in Sydney, where she upset World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-2 to give Team United States a 1-0 lead over Team Poland in the United Cup Final Four.

More to come…

Visit The Official United Cup YouTube Page

“I need this confidence,” Martina Trevisan said with a big smile after Matteo Berrettini praised her backhand when the Italians revealed which part of each other’s game they would like to have.

While Trevisan said she would opt for Berrettini’s heavy serve or how he stands tall at 6’5″, the duo then cracked a laugh as they joked who owns the better backhand.

“She asked me if I’m sure [I want her backhand],” Berrettini said while holding up his answer on the whiteboard.

It was a straight-forward response for both players when they were asked about their partner’s biggest weapon: Berrettini’s serve and Trevisan’s forehand. However, it wasn’t such an easy answer when they were quizzed on when they first saw each other play in person.

Want to know what else the Italian stars spoke about? Watch the full United Cup Partnership feature.

The novelty of the rare mixed doubles combinations in the United Cup is what makes them so compelling. The banter and the byplay between the ATP and WTA players has been refreshing to watch and hear.

Turns out the matches mean something, too.

Look no further than Wednesday’s crucial City Finals in Brisbane and Perth, where Poland and Greece needed their mixed doubles teams to break 2-2 ties and help them advance into the United Cup semi-finals. 

Of the 18 mixed doubles confrontations in the United Cup’s group play, only one decided the match — when Alexandar Lazarov and Isabella Shinikova upset David Goffin and Elise Mertens to forge a 3-2 victory for Bulgaria over Belgium. But with the elite teams advancing to the City Finals, semi-finals and, ultimately, the Sunday final, it was increasingly possible that a meaningful match would hinge on a mixed doubles result.

It happened when Hubert Hurkacz and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Camilla Rosatello 6-1, 6-2 to capture the city title for Poland. The atmosphere was scintillating. Later, it was the team of Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas that knocked off Croatia’s Borna Gojo and Petra Martic in Perth to send Greece to the final four.

Perhaps presciently, after Poland defeated Kazakhstan in group play, the first two questions in the post-match press conference actually concerned mixed doubles. Swiatek and World No. 10 Hurkacz won their match in straight sets, but all anyone wanted to talk about was Swiatek’s around-the-post winner.

Was it the best shot she’s ever hit?

“I guess it’s for the people to judge,” Swiatek said. “I tried it couple of times in practice and it didn’t work out, so even I’m surprised.”

Captain Agnieszka Radwanska quickly interjected, “You didn’t play mixed doubles in practice, that’s why.”

Swiatek agreed: “That’s true, that’s true. I don’t know. You’ve got to ask people where is the ranking. Aga is a specialist in hot shots. I guess you could make a ranking grade, right?”

As it turned out, Swiatek and Hurkacz eventually were able to work in some mixed doubles practice time.

“It helped us a bit to understand each other on the court,” Hurkacz said. “To work out some patterns, and see how each of us react to different positions. Yeah, it was good.”

Swiatek added: “Playing mixed doubles is [such a] different rhythm, and I haven’t been playing doubles the whole season basically last year, so I’m a little bit rusty. But having Hubi on my side, it’s really helpful, and his game is so powerful that we can really put pressure on our opponents.”

Italy’s Berrettini, whose team advanced despite the decisive mixed doubles defeat against Hurkacz and Swiatek, enjoyed the high stakes of the matchup.

“I think it’s cool how the mixed doubles decides everything. It’s something unique, something that probably we needed in a way,” he said after Team Italy progressed to the semi-finals with the best record of the three losing City Finals teams.

“Personally, I’m having a lot of fun with these guys, with these girls. It’s something that doesn’t happen too often. We go out for dinners and stuff in the other tournaments, but not like this. I’m personally really liking it.”

After City Final play, World No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States actually had more wins in mixed doubles than singles. She teamed with Taylor Fritz to defeat the Czech Republic and with Frances Tiafoe to down Germany, both in identical 10-7 Match Tie-breaks. Pegula again teamed with Fritz in a dead rubber to knock off their British opponents in the City Final.

🇺🇸 U-S-A 🇺🇸@JLPegula and @Taylor_Fritz97 clinch the win against Team Czech, 2-6 6-3, 10-7! #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/HWGaGv8kBk

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) December 30, 2022

Apparently, Tiafoe was unaware that their win could have had huge implications if the United States had lost its City Final in Sydney to Great Britain.

“He didn’t even know,” Pegula told reporters, drawing a laugh. “I knew. It was very important. I kept trying to tell him. I’m not sure if he, like, grasped the concept, but…”

Said Tiafoe: “Jess has been on me since 8 a.m. this morning. ‘Every match counts. Every match counts.’ Obviously, I’m always going to have fun out there, do my thing. But I wanted to win. Especially playing with Jess — she’s turned me down like 30 times to play.”

Croatia’s Tara Wurth is only 20 years old — and ranked No. 190 among WTA Tour players in singles. And yet, playing with Borna Gojo before the biggest crowd of her young life, she helped contribute a point against Argentina.

“The first set was tough, but as the match goes, Borna was giving me great advice,” she said later. “He was making me laugh. He was just supportive, and in the end I calmed, I focussed on tennis, not on everything that goes around.”

Added Gojo: “As I told her, she should enjoy. It’s a big stage, and it’s why we all play tennis, to play in the stages like this. The best moments are these, and to get a win is even more special.”

Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor made Dutch tennis history on Thursday at the Tata Open Maharashtra as both men progressed to the semi-finals in Pune. They became the first Dutch duo to reach the semi-finals of the same ATP Tour event since Dennis Van Scheppingen and Martin Verkerk at Amersfoort in 2004.

“It’s been a long time,” van de Zandschulp said of the achievement. “I cannot remember how long it’s been, but it’s pretty nice for the country.”

Van de Zandschulp has yet to drop a set in his Pune debut, having beaten Flavio Cobolli 7-5, 6-4 in his first match. After facing six break points in that contest, the World No. 35 did not face any against Marterer as he won 85 per cent of his first-serve points.

“I served well. It’s always helping when you serve well and you get a lot of free points,” he assessed, later adding that he enjoyed the slower, flatter evening conditions compared to his daytime Wednesday match. “[I was] really consistent, more consistent that the last match, so I’m happy with that.”

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

📺 TV Schedule
🎾 Watch Live On Tennis TV
📱 Follow Live Scores On ATP WTA Live
📧 Sign Up For Newsletters

The 27-year-old will seek his second tour-level final (Munich 2022) when he takes on Benjamin Bonzi — a 7-6(5), 6-4 winner against sixth seed Filip Krajinovic — in Friday’s semi-finals. Van de Zandschulp reached three semis last season but is still in search of his first ATP Tour crown.

Eighth seed Aslan Karatsev also advanced on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Spain’s Pedro Martinez. Karatsev has won all six sets he’s played this week and will seek to continue that streak against Griekspoor in the semis.

Game. Set. Match.

Meet the next generation of tennis giants in Netflix’s new tennis series, Break Point, which documents a game-changing year in the sport with unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to a select group of the world’s best players.

Netflix on Thursday released a trailer of the show, featuring some of the players as well as legends Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova, who provide insight. The series will premiere on 13 January.

“The hardest thing in sports is expectation,” Roddick said.

The trailer takes viewers through the pressure facing the world’s brightest young talents and the indescribable intensity of competing at the highest levels in tennis.

Break Point, produced by the team behind F1: Drive to Survive, gets up close and personal with the featured players throughout the 2022 season on the ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour.

Which players will be featured in Netflix’s Break Point?

Felix Auger-Aliassime, Paula Badosa, Matteo Berrettini, Taylor Fritz, Ons Jabeur, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios, Casper Ruud, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari, Sloane Stephens, Iga Swiatek, Frances Tiafoe, Ajla Tomljanovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Jannik Sinner has not dropped a set this week en route to the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International 1. But Kyle Edmund and Thanasi Kokkinakis have not been his only opponents.

The Italian on Wednesday enjoyed a battle of Now Gen against Past Gen at the ATP 250 event, where he hit with 99-year-old Henry Young, who on 11 January will compete in Melbourne against 98-year-old Ukrainian Leonid Stanislavskyi in the Battle of the Centurions, part of the Tennis Plays For Peace charity event.

“It’s obviously my pleasure. Seeing a man 99 years old playing incredible tennis, having such strength and willpower to stay on the court — yesterday was also hot — for me was a real pleasure,” Sinner told ATPTour.com. “I know he’s [playing] a very important match raising money in Melbourne, so it’s my pleasure obviously to play with him.

“I wish him all the best not only in the tennis court, but off court, which is most important. It was a lot of fun.”

Special moment to hit with Henry today, 99 years old and #1 in the world! Henry is playing against 98 year old Ukrainian Leonid Stanislavskyi on Rod Laver Arena next week to raise money for people in Ukraine. Both are an inspiration to us all! Good luck 💪🏼#ClashOfTheCenturions pic.twitter.com/91FUz1JX80

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) January 4, 2023

Sinner added that Young told him he took up the sport aged 70.

“It’s very nice seeing people also a little bit older age trying some new things,” Sinner said. “He was hitting very well to be honest. The high balls, which are usually very tough, for him were very, very easy. He doesn’t seem 99 years old. He was moving great, he had a lot of fun hopefully and I wish him all the best.”

The Italian will continue his tournament on Friday when he faces American Sebastian Korda for a place in the last eight.

By winning the City Final on Wednesday night in Sydney with a tidy 4-1 score over Great Britain, the Americans soon made the short commute back to their hotels, looking forward to an off day. Meanwhile, in Brisbane and Perth, four nations battled to join them in Friday’s United Cup semi-finals in Sydney.

In the end, Poland defeated Italy and Greece upended Croatia — with both ties decided by mixed doubles featuring four of the world’s best singles players. Italy advanced courtesy of the country’s superior percentage of sets won over Croatia, and will join them. Poland and Italy made their way 500-plus miles down the east coast of Australia from Brisbane, while Greece had to navigate more than 2,000 miles from Perth, situated on the west coast.

The matchups and overall record after three ties: U.S. (13-2) vs. Poland (10-5) and Greece (11-4) vs. Italy (10-5).

Here’s a closer look at the two semi-finals:

United States vs. Poland

The numbers say Poland has a 6-3 head-to-head advantage in the four singles matches, but four of those wins belong to Iga Swiatek over Jessica Pegula.

All four victories came last year in big spots — the Miami semi-finals, Roland Garros quarter-finals, US Open quarter-finals and San Diego’s semi-finals. Only San Diego went three sets. In terms of ranking, this is the class of all the semi-final matches, World No. 1 Swiatek versus the third-ranked Pegula.

Two of the other singles matchups — Hubert Hurkacz-Taylor Fritz and Magda Linette-Madison Keys — are deadlocked at 1-all. The difference for the United States could be Frances Tiafoe, who is a combined 6-0 in singles and mixed doubles. Tiafoe is ranked No. 19, 241 spots higher than Poland’s Daniel Michalski, who has gone 0-3 in singles play.

If the teams split the four singles matches, it could come down to a blockbuster mixed doubles confrontation between Swiatek and Hurkacz and Fritz and Pegula (2-0). The Polish duo clinched their victory over Italy to advance to the semi-finals.

“It was Iga,” Hurkacz said. “She was just playing really amazing, and she was returning Lorenzo [Musetti]’s serve really powerful, and that was helping a lot to put some pressure on the net. There wasn’t a lot of tactics there.”

Added Swiatek: “I don’t consider myself a leader. I’m still kind of getting used to it, but I also got used to the pressure, especially last year. I’m trying to cut it off on my matches to just focus on my game, and it’s going pretty well. Hopefully I’m going to be able to do that on my next matches.”

Friday, Jan. 6

Ken Rosewall Arena

[2] Iga Swiatek (POL) vs [3] Jessica Pegula (USA), 1 p.m. (Head to head: Swiatek, 4-1)

[2] Daniel Michalski (POL) vs [3] Frances Tiafoe (USA), to follow (Head to head: 0-0)

Saturday, Jan. 7

Ken Rosewall Arena

[2] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) vs [3] Taylor Fritz (USA), 10 a.m. (Head to head: 1-1)

[2] Magda Linette (POL) vs [3] Madison Keys (USA), to follow (Head to head: 1-1)

Mixed doubles match: Teams TBD

Greece vs. Italy

Once, again the head-to-head records here could be deceptive.

Overall, Greece holds a 3-1 advantage in the teams’ head-to-head singles records. Heading into the semi-finals, World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas leads No.16 Matteo Berrettini 2-0. Tsitsipas prevailed at the 2019 Australian Open and, two years later, in Rome.

Perhaps more relevant is Tsitsipas’ 6-0 record in singles and mixed doubles (with Maria Sakkari). That equals Sakkari and Tiafoe for the best mark among all remaining players.

Elsewhere, you can make a case for Italy. Martina Trevisan holds a 1-0 edge over Sakkari, a three-set match at Roland Garros in 2020. That was on the red clay in Paris, a surface that is far friendlier to Trevisan’s game. A fast hard court in Sydney might be another matter.

Similarly, Despina Papamichail has a 1-0 record against Lucia Bronzetti — but that came five years ago at an ITF $15,000 event. And then there is the disparity between the rankings of Lorenzo Musetti (No. 23) and his opponent, Michail Pervolarakis (No. 506).

Greek captain Petros Tsitsipas was asked if he’d allow a small celebration after his top-seeded team took out Croatia to advance to the semi-finals.

“No celebrations until we lift the trophy,” he said.

Italian Captain Vincenzo Santopadre didn’t yet know the fate of his team when he met the press following the loss to Poland.

“We just have to wait,” he said. “I say what I said before, we have to be happy and continue — if there is the chance to continue, it would be really nice because I’m sure that if it happens, we will enjoy again.”

Friday, Jan. 6

Ken Rosewall Arena

[1] Maria Sakkari (GRE) vs. [5] Martina Trevisan (ITA), 7 p.m. (Head to head: Trevisan, 1-0)

[1] Michail Pervolarakis (GRE) vs [5] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA), to follow (Head to head: 0-0)

Saturday, Jan. 7

Ken Rosewall Arena

[1] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [5] Matteo Berrettini (ITA), 5 p.m. (Head to head: Tsitsipas, 2-0)

[1] Despina Papamichail (GRE) vs [5] Lucia Bronzetti (ITA), to follow (Head to head: Papamichail, 1-0)

Mixed doubles match: Teams TBD