The 2023 season gets underway on Thursday in Australia, a few days before the new year even begins. And it starts with a brand new tournament called the United Cup, a joint ATP/WTA team event. It features teams of men and women representing 18 different countries, split into six different round-robin groups, and will be staged across three different cities (Brisbane, Perth, Sydney).
The two group winners in each host city will face off in a knockout stage, where the three winning teams will advance to the semifinals. They’ll be joined by the losing host city finalist with the best record. The group standings will be tracked here.
The ATP is represented by top names such as Rafael Nadal, a returning Sascha Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The WTA field includes World No.1 Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, and WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 12:00pm local time in Perth and Sydney, and 1:00pm in Brisbane.
Stefanos Tsitsipas [GRE] vs. Grigor Dimitrov [BUL] – Second on in Perth
Greece is the top-seeded team, lead by Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari. Greece and Bulgaria are in Group A alongside Belgium, which boasts David Goffin and Elise Mertens as their top players.
Tsitsipas was 61-24 last season. The end of the season saw him lose three of his last four matches, though all three losses were to top 10 opposition, with two of them against Novak Djokovic. Dimitrov went just 26-22 last season, and as per Tennis Abstract, was 0-5 against the top 5, of which Stefanos is a part of. Three of those losses came last season at the hands of the Greek, though all were on clay.
Overall Tsitsipas leads their head-to-head 5-1, with Dimitrov’s only victory coming in 2020 on an indoor hard court. In this battle of one-handed backhands, Stefanos is a solid favorite to secure his fifth straight win over Grigor.
Alex de Minaur [AUS] vs. Cameron Norrie [GBR] – Not Before 7:00pm in Sydney
De Minaur replaces an injured Nick Kyrgios as the Australian team’s top male. Australia and Great Britain are in Group D alongside Spain, which is led by Rafael Nadal and Paula Badosa.
Alex went 47-25 last season, and he excels in team competitions. The Australian was a part of Team World’s first-ever victory over Team Europe at September’s Laver Cup, where he defeated Britain’s Andy Murray. Norrie is the new British No.1, who last season successfully followed up on his 2021 success, going 49-26. However, he endured a tough fall, going just 4-4.
Their only previous encounter occurred this past April on clay in Barcelona, with de Minaur prevailing in three sets. While playing on home soil representing his country, Alex is a favorite to defeat Cam again on Thursday.
The United Cup daily schedule is here.
