HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession
AFP, SYDNEY
Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup.
World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat.
That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final.
Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka returns to Mexico’s Renata Zarazua during their women’s singles match at the Brisbane International in Australia yesterday.
Photo: AFP
In Sydney, the in-form fourth-ranked Paolini demolished France’s Chloe Paquet 6-0, 6-2 to help steer an Italian team missing Jannik Sinner into the knockout round with their opponent yet to be decided.
Iga Swiatek’s Poland play the Czech Republic today in a bid to join them, while Britain take on Australia.
World No. 4 Fritz got the ball rolling for the US, adapting his game to Coric’s approach.
Coco Gauff of the US returns to Croatia’s Donna Vekic during their women’s singles match at the United Cup in Perth, Australia, yesterday.
Photo: AFP
“At the start he was hitting well and staying with me from the baseline. It was tough to hurt him,” he said. “But I tried to make fewer mistakes and let him make a couple — that was the difference. It was just great to get the win, good to get it done.”
Gauff put the tie beyond Croatia’s reach against Vekic, who scored an upset win against her on the way to a silver medal at the Olympics.
“That defeat really hurt, but it was really just motivation to do better,” said Gauff, who won eight of the past 11 games.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, left, of France shakes hands with Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, right, after winning their Brisbane International men’s singles match at Queensland Tennis Centre in Australia yesterday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I’m happy how I served and competed today throughout the entire match,” she said. “We’re through to the quarter-finals — let’s go.”
Paolini had a memorable year, finishing runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and winning her second career title in Dubai.
She also triumphed with Italy in doubles at the Paris Olympics and helped her country to Billie Jean King Cup glory, bringing that form to Australia.
After thrashing Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-1 in her season-opening match, she showed Paquet no mercy in a warning shot heading into the Australian Open.
At the Brisbane International, Taiwanese Olympian Chan Hao-ching and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok on Monday survived Australia’s Talia Gibson and Maya Joint to advance to the women’s doubles quarter-finals. The top seeds are tomorrow to play Australia’s Priscilla Hon and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, who advanced after defeating Japan’s Miyu Kato and Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday.
Yesterday in Brisbane, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka overcame a sluggish start to open her season with a straight-sets 6-4, 6-0 victory over Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in Pat Rafter Arena.
“The first match is always a tricky one,” Sabalenka said. “It was a tricky start for me, but I’m glad that I closed it out in the first set, and in the second set I felt like whatever I tried to do it would work for me.
Sabalenka is bidding to be the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997-1999 to win three Australian Open crowns in succession. The year’s opening Grand Slam starts in Melbourne on Sunday next week.
In other matches, Armenia’s Elina Avanesyan stunned Spain’s fourth seed Paula Badosa in the first match on center court to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, while American Ashlyn Krueger downed Russian sixth seed Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-3.
In the men’s draw, Nick Kyrgios proved his match fitness after 18 months off the tour due to wrist and knee injuries, albeit in a losing cause in Brisbane.
In a match that lasted 2 hours, 27 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena, 21-year-old Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France beat the 29-year-old Australian in three tiebreak sets — 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3).
The hard-serving French player rose to No. 31 from outside the top 200 last year.
Mpetshi Perricard served 36 aces to Kyrgios’ 15, regularly topping 220kph with ease and backing himself with huge second serves. There were no service breaks in the match.
“Surely you understand my frustration,” Kyrgios told the chair umpire Christian Rask, who had quietly warned him to watch his language after missing a rare chance to break in the second set.
fourth seed Frances Tiafoe of the US saw off Australian wildcard Adam Walton 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 while Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi upset Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, former US Open champion Emma Raducanu yesterday pulled out of the Auckland Classic with a “back niggle” in a blow to her Australian Open preparations.
Britain’s Raducanu is to fly to Melbourne to begin rehabilitation ahead of the year’s first major.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with AP
