Sydney ¨C A dominant United States lifted its second United Cup mixed team tournament title in three years after beating Poland 2-0 on Sunday with Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz both winning their singles matches.
The top seed in the $10 million tournament that began with 18 nations in contention clinched the trophy when Fritz defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) after Gauff outclassed Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 in Sydney.
The Americans also won the 2023 title in the inaugural edition of the tournament, which serves as a tuneup for the Australian Open.
With the second singles contest locked at one set apiece, Fritz raised his level at 3-3 in the tiebreak of the decider to see off Hurkacz and spark a huge celebration.
¡°Congratulations to Poland on a great week,¡± said Fritz, addressing a dejected Polish side that finished runner-up at the tournament for a second successive year.
¡°They¡¯re an incredibly tough team and the margins were very small. I feel that it could have gone either way.
¡°I want to thank my team, unbelievable support. The vibes all week were amazing. That¡¯s one of the things that makes our team so great and one of the reasons why we¡¯ve been able to do so well.
¡°We¡¯ve just really come together. It¡¯s amazing.¡±
Gauff stepped up her preparation for the year¡¯s first Grand Slam, which begins Sunday, with her second straight win over world No. 2 Swiatek in a blockbuster showdown that gave fans at Ken Rosewall Arena their money¡¯s worth.
The world No. 3, who beat Swiatek en route to the WTA Finals title last season, squandered a 2-0 lead in the first set but battled back to gain the upper hand as her opponent committed 19 unforced errors.
In another high-octane set that followed, Gauff recovered a break to level at 4-4 and went on to secure a win that ensured she ended her singles campaign at the tournament unbeaten.
¡°I have the belief that I¡¯m one of the best players in the world. When I play good tennis, I¡¯m hard to beat,¡± said Gauff, who also beat Leylah Fernandez, Donna Vekic, Zhang Shuai and Karolina Muchova in the event.
¡°Today I think I played some great tennis. I¡¯m glad I was able to get a point for Team USA. It was tough today, I¡¯m not going to lie.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.