United Cup: Petra Kvitova Reaches Milestone But Team Loses, Sakkari Shines For Greece And Italy Win - UBITENNIS
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United Cup: Petra Kvitova Reaches Milestone But Team Loses, Sakkari Shines For Greece And Italy Win

It has been an action-packed day at the team competition which is being held across three cities. 

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Petra Kvitova of Team Czech Republic plays Jessica Pegula of Team USA on Ken Rosewall Arena during their Group D match on Day 2 of the 2023 United Cup in Sydney on Friday, December 30, 2022. MANDATORY PHOTO CREDIT Tennis Australia/ ATP, PETER STAPLES

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. 

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Coco Gauff And Aryna Sabalenka Struggle Through In Indian Wells Openers

The duo were pushed to three sets in their first matches played at this year’s WTA 1000 event.

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Coco Gauff admits she didn’t play her best tennis at Indian Wells on Saturday after coming through a rollercoaster three-set battle. 

The world No.3 needed more than two hours to oust France’s Clara Burel 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). Gauff found herself trailing multiple times during the match. After losing the opening set, the reigning US Open champion then had to battle back from a 0-4 deficit in the decider. Capitalising on some tentative hitting from Burel who was bidding to record the biggest win of her career. 

Despite prevailing, it was a far from vintage performance from Gauff who hit six double faults and 14 unforced errors during the first set alone. She also struggled behind her second serve, winning just 12 out of 36 points played. 

“I think for me it’s just getting through that match definitely meant a lot,” Gauff said. “Could have easily thrown in the towel. But honestly, I was just telling myself, like, win or lose, I don’t want to have any regrets on the court. I want to be like I gave myself the best opportunity to win, and I did that.
“Am I proud of how I played? Not really, to be honest. But the fight, I am proud of. I am eager to improve. I think it wasn’t my best tennis at all. I think I just have a lot of improvement that I can do to get better.”

The 19-year-old has become the first teenager in the last 15 years to have won 50 or more matches at WTA 1000 events. She will next play Lucia Bonzetti.

“That’s pretty cool,” Gauff commented on her latest milestone. “I feel like I have a lot of stats and stuff like that. Hopefully I can close this chapter of my life off good. I’m really happy with how my teenage years went.” 

Sabalenka avoids major upset 

Aryna Sabalenka was another player to experience trouble during their opening match after outlasting Peyton Sterns 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-6 (8), in a clash that lasted almost three hours. The world No.2 was on the verge of losing and had to save four match points when down 4-5 in the final set. Despite that blip, she held her nerve to break back before prevailing in a tightly contested tiebreaker. 

“Wow, I think I was right when I see this tattoo of a tiger and I was fighting today like a tiger,” said Sabalenka. “It’s just crazy what happened. She’s an unbelievable player.
“She played crazy tennis. She said at the net, ‘I had you,’ so she’s right. I was probably a little bit lucky to get this win. Super happy to get through this.”
“I didn’t play my best tennis and she was crushing it like crazy. I was just trying to stay in the game and keep fighting for every point. But this match definitely goes into the book of craziest matches and the best matches of my career.”

Sabalenka is hoping to go one step better in Indian Wells than 12 months ago when she reached the final before losing to Elena Rybakina, who has pulled out of the tournament due to gastrointestinal issues. 

Awaiting the Belrussian in the next round will be Emma Raducanu in what will be the first meeting on the Tour. 

Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka posted a convincing 7-5, 6-3, win over world No.15 Luidmila Samsonova. It is the first time she has beaten a top 20 player since returning to competitive tennis following the birth of her child. 

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Caroline Wozniacki Expresses Delight After Vekic Win, Ons Jabeur Crashes Out

Caroline Wozniacki earned a big win over Donna Vekic at Indian Wells while Ons Jabeur crashed out.

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Caroline Wozniacki is into the third round at Indian Wells after toppling Donna Vekic 7-6(3) 6-3 while Ons Jabeur crashed out.

The former Australian Open champion produced a resilient and clinical display to knock out Vekic in straight sets.

It was a clinical display on return as Wozniacki neutralized the Croatian’s serve to break on three occasions to reach the third round.

Speaking after the match Wozniacki described Indian Wells as one of the best tournaments in the world and was happy with the performance, “Donna is a great competitor, great player. I thought we both played really well today. Just happy to be through this one,” the 33 year-old told the WTA website.

“I’m here because I love to be here. You know, I’m lucky enough that I have been given some wildcards so I’m able to play these big tournaments and compete against the best players in the world.”

Wozniacki will now face Katie Volynets in the third round after the American stunned sixth seed Ons Jabeur.

The world number 131 recorded the biggest victory of her career against the out-of-sorts Tunisian in a 6-4 6-4 win.

In an interview after the match Volynets described how much it meant to her to beat one of her idols, “I’m so honored to have a wild card here and I’m so honored to play Ons,” the wildcard told the WTA website.

“I’ve been watching her on TV for years so it’s just such an honor to play here on this court against such a wonderful player. I’m definitely pleased with how I was able to execute today.

“I think it was very close the entire time. She was throwing in some amazing drop shots and slices and injecting some pace. I’m glad I was able to overcome that.”

The winner of Wozniacki and Volynets will play the winner of Veronika Kudermetova against Angelique Kerber.

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Simona Halep To Make Tennis Return In Miami

Simona Halep has a wildcard into the Miami Open.

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Simona Halep will make her return to tennis in Miami after receiving a wildcard for the tournament.

The Romanian hasn’t played competitively for 19 months with her last appearance being a first round defeat to Daria Snigur at the 2022 US Open.

After her appearance in New York, Halep would be banned for four years from competitive tennis after failing a doping test.

A lengthy appeal process followed from Halep which eventually saw her ban reduced by the Court Of Arbitration For Sport to nine months, therefore allowing her to resume competitive tennis with immediate effect.

It hasn’t taken long for Halep to make her next step as the Romanian announced on Instagram that she has received a wildcard for the Miami Open.

It will be interesting to see what shape Halep is in as it would have made more logical sense for the former Roland Garros Champion to begin her comeback on clay.

The 32 year-old has made nine appearances in Miami and her best performance has been reaching the semi-finals in 2015 and 2019.

Time will tell whether Halep can repeat her past success with the Miami Open starting on the 19th of March.

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