Stefanos Tsitsipas maintained his perfect start to the 2023 season on Tuesday at the United Cup in Perth, coming through a topsy-turvy encounter with Borna Coric 6-0, 6-7(4), 7-5 against Borna Coric to earn a vital City Finals point for Team Greece.

The World No. 4 took to court under pressure after Donna Vekic defeated Despina Papamichail to give Team Croatia a 1-0 lead in the tie, and he had to dig deep as Coric staged a recovery after saving two match points at 5-6 in the second set. The Greek was then in trouble at 1-4 behind in the decider, but he rallied to a thrilling two-hour, 32-minute win that left the Perth City Final at 1-1.

“Whenever I play [Borna], it’s definitely not easy, but I keep reminding myself that it doesn’t get better than this and his level of tennis is going to improve my level of tennis,” said Tsitsipas after the match. “So yeah, I’ve lost some, now I’ve won some too. It’s important to get matches against opponents like this that raise the bar high. They require you to find ways to win, even when you’re not feeling your best.”

Coric prevailed in both his meetings with Tsitsipas in 2022, including a notable victory in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, but the Greek showed no early signs of being affected by those defeats as he dominated the first set on RAC Arena. Tsitsipas’ all-around game was dialled in as he dropped just two points on serve in the set and was clinical in converting all three of his break points.

The World No. 26 Coric had shown impressive form in the group stage in Perth, where he opened with wins against Francisco Cerundolo and Arthur Rinderknech, and he reacted well to dropping his first set of the 2023 season. The Croatian produced a couple of searing backhand winners during a second set that offered few chances against serve.

Tsitsipas almost made his move in the 12th game, but Coric saved two match points to force a tie-break and then stayed consistent to level the match after opening an ultimately unassailable 6/2 lead. The momentum was all with Coric as he broke Tsitsipas for the first time in the match and opened a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, but the Greek’s big hitting continued to pull Coric effectively around the court. He won five of the last six games, finally sealing victory with his sixth match point.

“I was just trying to continue that momentum that I built from the very first moment when I entered the court,” said Tsitsipas. “He responded very fiercely in that particular moment, so I just had to continue with the way I fight, with the way I do things, and I’m so, so glad… That last shot was the moment I was really looking forward to and a very good down-the-line backhand in fact, it surprised me. What a relief.”

The City Final will be decided in the evening session in Perth, where Greece’s WTA No. 6 Maria Sakkari will meet Petra Martic in the No. 1 women’s singles match. Michail Pervolarakis is scheduled to take on Borna Gojo in the fourth singles match before a final and potentially decisive mixed doubles clash.

Vekic had earlier given Croatia a strong start to the City Final with an emphatic 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Papamichail in just 64 minutes.

The No. 158-ranked Papamichail had impressed in her United Cup campaign so far, pulling out a three-set win over Isabella Shinikova on Day 1 and then delivering a superb performance in defeat against Alison Van Uytvanck. But the 29-year-old had few answers to Vekic’s relentless power.

Papamichail showed off her trademark grit in the first game, saving four break points for an early hold. But Vekic converted her sixth break point of the day in the third game, winning a rally that featured net cords and a cat-and-mouse volley exchange before Papamichail put a smash wide.

Thereafter, Vekic settled and began to dominate. The former WTA No.19’s return was in fiery form, particularly on the off forehand, one of which captured another break for 5-2. She leavened her power with finesse, too, with the drop shot proving increasingly successful. The second set was near-flawless from the Croatian, who conceded only eight points and did not face a game point during it.

Cameron Norrie delivered a vital victory for Team Great Britain on Wednesday when he clawed past Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to level his nation’s City Final tie against Team United States at 1-1.

The pressure was on Norrie after American Madison Keys defeated World No. 145 Katie Swan 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening match on Day 7 in Sydney. However, the World No. 14 was not fazed, playing consistently from the baseline to move past Fritz after two hours and 15 minutes on Ken Rosewall Arena.

Norrie successfully soaked up Fritz’s aggressive hitting and demonstrated his supreme fitness levels in the decider, outlasting the World No. 9 to improve to 3-0 on the new season. With his victory, the 27-year-old levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Fritz at 6-6.

The tie continues later today when Jessica Pegula faces Harriet Dart. Frances Tiafoe will play Daniel Evans in the fourth singles tie.

If the teams are locked at 2-2 after singles, the match will come down to mixed doubles, which is scheduled to showcase Pegula and Tiafoe against Dart and Evans.

The winner of the tie will advance to the United Cup Final Four, which commences in Sydney on Friday. The best runner-up from across the three City Finals will also progress to the Final Four.

Great Britain has served as a fantastic underdog foil at the United Cup, having tallied upset wins over Australia and Spain in group play. Swan looked keen to continue the trend early, as she jumped on a slow-starting Keys to take the opening set.

The big-serving American bounced back quickly to take the second set but could not hold on to an early lead in the decider. Swan broke back to 3-3 in the third set off a shakey double fault from the American, and it appeared as though Tim Henman’s squad had regained the momentum for good.

But Keys showed her experience in the end. She played a disciplined and patient return game to break Swan one final time to 5-4 and coolly served out the win after two hours and 18 minutes.

Norrie and Fritz then entered the stage and served up an intriguing battle in the latest chapter of their rivalry. Both turned to their Team Zones throughout the clash for support, while they played at a high level, ripping the ball off both wings to pin each other back. With little to separate them, it was Norrie who found a way, gaining the decisive break in the ninth game of the third set before closing out on serve.

Daniil Medvedev had to scratch and claw in his opening match of the season, saving nine set points in his first set of 2023. The former World No. 1 faced no such difficulties on Wednesday.

Medvedev cruised past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3 to advance to the Adelaide International 1 quarter-finals. He will next play Karen Khachanov for a place in the last four.

“It’s always better to win 6-0 than to win 7-6 saving nine set points and playing one hour, 20 [minutes],” Medvedev said. “But tennis is not as easy, otherwise everyone would be No. 1, but we have only one. So happy with my level today against a strong opponent. Second set was tougher, but managed to close it out at the end and looking forward to my next matches.”

The third seed saved the only break point he faced to triumph after 67 minutes. Medvedev now leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 3-0, winning all seven sets they have played.

Kecmanovic maintained contact in the second set, holding his first three service games. But Medvedev landed the knockout blow at 4-3, delivering a laser-like backhand winner up the line to earn his fourth service break of the match.

If Medvedev and Novak Djokovic both advance to the semi-finals, they will meet in a blockbuster showdown in Adelaide. However, Medvedev will be fully focussed on facing his friend, Khachanov.

“I actually don’t remember exactly where was the last time we played,” Medvedev said. “We’ve both changed a lot. He’s a very strong opponent, he can beat anybody. He beat Jack today, who is a young guy on the rise, so looking forward to this tough match.”

Khachanov defeated 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Jack Draper 6-4, 6-2. The 26-year-old did not lose serve in the match.

“To be honest I was expecting a very tough match against Jack because we had a good battle in the US Open, which unfortunately finished not in the way I wanted, but he retired in the end of the third set,” Khachanov recalled. “He’s on a good run, he’s a good rising-up player, younger than me. To be honest with you from the beginning until the end, I played a very solid match, very good performance from my side.”

Lorenzo Musetti gave Italy a perfect start in the United Cup Brisbane City Final on Wednesday when he cruised past Poland’s Daniel Michalski.

The two-time ATP Tour titlist and Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus was in full control on Pat Rafter Arena, showing his class in a 6-1, 6-1 win against the World No. 260. The Italian lost just three service points in his 58-minute victory.

“Of course the serve worked really good,” Musetti said. “But I mean every shot [I] had a great feeling with the ball since the first hit on the court. I think I played for sure the best match of the year.”

Poland will look to quickly strike back when WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek takes the court against World No. 27 Martina Trevisan, a lefty who made last year’s Roland Garros semi-finals. That clash will be followed by the No. 1 men’s singles match between 2021 Nitto ATP Finals competitors Hubert Hurkacz and Matteo Berrettini, which kicks off the night session not before 5:30 p.m.

Musetti oozed with confidence from the first ball against Michalski, waving his racquet like a wand on the court. Michalski struggled to find his rhythm early, which allowed the World No. 23 to play from the lead, which he never relinquished.

“Today I was moving really, really fast with the feet and I think that’s a key part for my game,” Musetti said. “Today I was on fire from that side, so I could manage the match in a positive way.”

The Italian is now 3-0 at the inaugural United Cup. Musetti also earned straight-set victories against Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves and Norwegian Viktor Durasovic.

Brisbane City Final Order Of Play

Not Before 2:00 pm

Not Before 5:30 pm