On Friday in Australia, the semifinals of the inaugural United Cup begin in Sydney. Each semifinal will be played across two days, and will be completed on Saturday. The first two singles matches of each semi take place on Friday, with Saturday featuring the second two, as well as what could be a deciding mixed doubles match.
Friday’s play is headlined by two of the WTA’s top three players squaring off in the semifinals.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most prominent matches on the schedule. Friday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.
Iga Swiatek [POL] vs. Jessica Pegula [USA] – Starts at 1:00pm
Swiatek is 3-0 in singles to this stage, while Pegula is 2-1, as she lost to Petra Kvitova in straight sets. Frances Tiafoe will be a strong favorite in Friday’s other singles match between these nations, so it will be crucial for Iga to prevail in this matchup to keep this tie even.
Swiatek is 4-1 against Pegula, with Jessica’s only victory coming four years ago in Washington. Their other four meetings all occurred in 2022, and all went to Iga, who claimed eight of their nine sets contested. Those four meetings were in the semifinals of Miami and San Diego, and the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and the US Open.
Without much in her game that bothers Swiatek, Pegula needs to maintain an extremely high level to defeat the World No.1. Iga is a considerable favorite to earn her fifth straight victory over Jess.
Maria Sakkari [GRE] vs. Martina Trevisan [ITA] – Not Before 7:00pm
Sakkari is 3-0 in singles to this stage, and is yet to drop a set. Trevisan is 1-2, with her only victory over a player ranked outside the top 300. In Friday’s other match between these nations, Lorenzo Musetti is a significant favorite to gain a point for Italy.
Sakkari went 40-23 last season, but was 0-4 in finals, and just 7-4 at Majors. Trevisan went 26-22 last season, yet she’s ranked inside the top 30 thanks to two strong results on clay. She won the title in Rabat, and reached the semifinals of the French Open.
Their only previous encounter took place in the third round of the 2020 French Open, when Martina prevailed in three sets. In the second set of that contest, Trevisan saved two match points, eventually taking that set in a tiebreak. But on a hard court, Sakkari is the favorite to avenge that loss and give Greece an early lead in this semifinal tie.
The United Cup daily schedule is here.