Canada beat Croatia 2-1 in a Group A match at the 2025 United Cup at the RAK Arena in Perth.
Leylah Fernandez world number 19 Donna Vekic 6-4 6-3 after 1 hour and 26 minutes in the women’s singles match to give Canada. Vekic had won her five previous matches at this tournament.
Fernandez fired four aces and converted two break points. The world number 31 player won 81% of her first serve points.
Neither player faced a break point in the first nine games of the second set. Fernandez earned three break points after a double fault from Vekic in the 10th game. The Canadian player converted her fourth chance to seal the first set 6-4 after Vekic made her second double fault in the game.
Fernandez earned a break point, as Vekic made her sixth double fault of the match in the eighth game of the second set. The Canadian player broke serve after two missed backhands from Vekic.
Fernandez held at love to seal the win with her fourth ace.
Fernandez handed Vekic her first defeat in the United Cup.
“I am super happy with the way that I played. I stayed consistent in the tough moments. Donna is an incredible player and incredible fighter. I knew she was not going to give it to me, especially at the start of the second set. I am just happy that I stayed mentally strong”, said Fernandez.
Borna Coric battled pack from one set down to beat Felix Auger Aliassime 0-6 6-4 6-4 after 2 hours and 21 minutes.
Auger Aliassime earned three breaks to seal a bagel win in the first set. The Canadian player went up a 4-2 lead with an immediate break in the first game of the second set, but he hit a mid-court forehand long at 15-30 on Coric’s serve. Coric converted his fourth break point in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. The Croatian player sealed the second set 6-4 with a second break in the 10th game.
Coric broke serve in the second game of the third set to open up a 3-0 lead in the third set, but he was no able to serve out the match in the third set, as Auger Aliassime broke back from 4-5. Coric recovered to break serve in the 10th game to seal the third set 6-4 after 2 hours and 19 minutes. Coric improved to 3-1 in his head-to-head matches against Auger Aliassime.
“I am not sure how I won. I came out and I was not feeling my serve. It’s obviously very tough to play against him when I am not feeling it. I just tried to stay positive with the crowd here and I knew I was going to have my chances. Then I started to play better. It was absolute chaos but in the end, I had a little bit of luck”, said Coric.
Auger Aliassime teamed up with Fernandez to beat Ivan Dodig and Lucjia Biric 6-3 6-4 in the mixed doubles match.
Fernandez and Auger Aliassime earned a break in each set. “It was great. No loss of serve, so that means whatever we were in control of, we were doing well. It’s all about trust. Not going for too much. We trust each other”, said Auger Aliassime in the post-match interview.
