United Cup: Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys give Team USA early lead at mixed teams event
- United States opened Day 1 of United Cup with a pair of wins to take a 2-0 lead over Czech Republic
- American men’s No 1 Taylor Fritz opened tournament with solid win over Jiri Lehecka, while world No 11 Madison Keys followed with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Marie Bouzkova
Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys have given the United States a 2-0 lead over the Czech Republic at the new United Cup mixed teams tournament on Thursday.
Fritz broke Jiri Lehecka’s serve in the ninth game of the second set and went on to beat the Czech player 6-3, 6-4. Keys followed that up with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Marie Bouzkova in the next Group C match at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
Two singles matches – one men’s and one women’s – will be played over each of two days, with a mixed doubles to conclude the five-match encounter on the second day.
“In a team event, first match of the year, there are always some nerves coming out, so it is great to come out and get the team ahead,” Fritz said. “Hopefully loosen everyone else up. It is a tough position to play if behind, so it is really good for the team.”
Fritz saved both break points he faced in his first head-to-head meeting with the 21-year-old Lehecka.
“When I was down, I felt that I was coming up with big serves when I needed the free points,” Fritz said. “I don’t think from the ground I maybe played my best, but when I was down break point or 0-30, I was coming up with big serves.”
The US is the third-seeded team in the tournament and also features world No 3 Jessica Pegula and men’s No 19 Frances Tiafoe.
On Friday in singles against the Czechs, Pegula will take on two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Tiafor plays Tomas Machac. Pegula and Fritz are expected to play mixed doubles for the US.
The inaugural United Cup has teams from 18 countries competing in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney through to January 4. The three city champions and the next-best performing country from the group stage will meet at Ken Rosewall Arena from January 6 to 8 to determine the overall winner.
Djokovic, Nadal to kick-start bid for 2023 supremacy in Australia
Top-seeded Greece is led by world No 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No 6-ranked woman Maria Sakkari. World No 1 Iga Swiatek and No 11 Hubert Hurkacz will lead second-seeded Poland,
Rafael Nadal will team with world No 13 Paula Badosa for Spain, while Italy will have world No 16 Matteo Berrettini and Martina Trevisan.
Each host city will feature two groups of three countries competing in a round-robin format.
Among other matches on Thursday’s opening day, Italy take on Brazil in a day Group E match, while Switzerland face Kazakhstan at night in Group B at Brisbane. At Perth, Greece plays Bulgaria in Group A and France plays Argentina later in a night Group F match.
