Sydney, Dec 31 The first day of the New Year will be crucial as Poland and the United States will play matches in their quest for a place in the quarterfinals of the United Cup mixed teams tennis tournament being held in different venues in Australia.
Monday’s loaded United Cup schedule features the last two players standing at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Top 5 players both.
The winner of the 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth is also in action, looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season -- against a three-time Grand Slam champion who didn’t play a single match last year.
Caroline Garcia was a revelation at the end of 2022. She defeated Aryna Sabalenka in a stirring Fort Worth final and finished the year ranked No.4.
Last year, Garcia’s daring, aggressive game produced 40 victories -- but zero titles and her ranking dropped to No.20. Why was it so difficult to maintain her dazzling level?
Her first match of 2024 in Sydney offers a glorious bounce-back opportunity -- Angelique Kerber plays her second match after an 18-month leave of absence to give birth to her first child. The first went to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, 6-4, 7-5, but Kerber and Alexander Zverev won the mixed doubles match to give Germany a 2-1 victory.
Kerber leads the head-to-head 6-3, but Garcia won their only match in the last five years, in 2021 at Dubai.
In Group F, it’s Croatia versus Norway, with Donna Vekic taking on Malene Helgo. They have never played.
Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening United Cup match but came back to take the tie from Brazil, partnering with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to defeat Haddad Maia and Marcelo Melo in mixed doubles.
Next up, the greatest challenge in women’s tennis -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek. Swiatek has won both their previous matches, last year at Wimbledon and Beijing, in straight sets. In four sets, Sorribes Tormo has won more than three games just once.
“I’m going to say something I don’t know if I have to say, but she’s the best -- that’s what I think,” Sorribes Tormo said. “I think she’s doing all the things right. She's a player that I really look at, how she does many, many things.
In Perth, the quarterfinal berth will go to the winner of the shoot-out between United States and host Australia.
The night session in Perth features World No.5 Jessica Pegula opposite Ajla Tomljanovic, who continues her comeback from injury. Surprisingly, Tomljanovic leads the head-to-head, but they haven’t played a match in more than a dozen years.
Pegula is looking to bounce back from a tight three-set loss to Katie Boulter in her opener.
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