Two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova gave her team something to cheer about at the United Cup on Friday during what has been a tough opening tie for the Czech Republic.
The former world No.2 battled on court for just over two hours before defeating Jessica Pegula 7-6(6), 6-4. A player who is currently ranked 13 places higher than her in the WTA rankings at third in the world. During what was a rollercoaster opening set, Kvitova dropped serve at 5-5 before fighting back immediately to force the clash into a tiebreaker which she trailed 3-6 before winning five points in a row. Then in the second set, she broke twice en route to victory.
Kvitova’s latest win is the 30th time in her career she has beaten a player ranked in the world’s top five. The first time she did so was 13 years ago against Darina Safina at the 2009 US Open. She has also defeated more than 60 players ranked in the top 10.
“We keep fighting,” Kvitova said. “I think USA is such a great team with great players in the team. We are not really favorites here, but we are fighting every match, every point. That’s our team spirit.”
Unfortunately for the Czech team, Kvitova was the only player to win a point for them in their tie against the USA which they lost 4-1. On Friday Frances Tiafoe made his debut in the tournament by winning his match in unfortunate circumstances. The US Open semi-finalist was leading Tomas Machac before the Czech was forced to retire after spraining his ankle. Then in the doubles, Pegula and Taylor Fritz edged out Marie Bouzkova and Jiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-3, 10-7.
“I feel like on our team there’s a lot of different options and different pairings and the mixed could be important down the line,” Fritz told reporters after his doubles match. “We want to figure out what will be our best team or at least get the rust off. The whole thing can be decided by the mixed doubles so we want to know who we want to go with in a big match.”
Both the USA and the Czech Republic will play Germany later in the tournament. Only the top team of each group will progress to the knockout stages.
Sakkari does the double for Greece
Elsewhere, Maria Sakkari had two reasons to celebrate during her country’s 4-1 triumph over Grigor Dimitrov’s Bulgarian team. The world No.6 dropped only five games during her 6-3, 6-2, win over Viktoriya Tomova. The Greek impressively won 84% of her first service points and broke four times in the match.
“I was a little nervous in the beginning,” said Sakkari. “Especially being 2-0 up in the tie, I knew my match was crucial to winning. She was very solid at first, but I found my game, found my serve and everything got better.
“[The United Cup format] is unusual but it’s very nice. We get to spend time together, watching each other, so we can learn a lot of things from each other. From the outside you see things differently.”
Sakkari returned to the court later in the day for mixed doubles duty alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Dimitrov in three sets on the first day of the competition. The duo rallied to a 6-4, 6-4, win over Gergana Topalova and Adrian Andreev.
Sakkari is hoping the United Cup will get her into top shape for the Australian Open where she is seeking her first major title at the age of 27. She reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and the US Open in 2021.
“He (my trainer) pushed me really hard and it’s something I really like to do,” she said.
“Going to the gym is like my hobby.
“If I’m not fit on the court, I feel like I can’t play my best tennis.
“When I feel like I can move well and I can hit powerful shots, then I feel like I’m a very good and dangerous player.”
Bulgaria’s only win in the tie was from Dimitar Kuzmanov who defeated Michail Pervolarakis 6-1, 6-1.
Berrettini makes a winning start
Finally, Italy also sealed victory on Friday with a 3-2 win over Brazil. The tie was split at 1-1 after the first day but on the second team Italy clinched an unassailable lead with the help of wins in both of the singles matches. Former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini fired 15 aces during his tricky 6-4, 7-6(7), win over Thiago Monteiro.
“Pretty happy I have to say. It’s been a long time since I’ve played my last singles match, so I didn’t know what to expect. I think the level was pretty high,” Berrettini said afterwards. “I’m happy for my performance, but obviously when you play in these kind of competitions the most important thing is to get the win and bring a point for the team and that’s why I’m even happier.”
Following up on Berrettini’s win, Lucia Bronzetti crushed Laura Pigossi 6-0, 6-2, to seal the tie for her country. The only consultation for Brazil was their win in the mixed doubles match.
