A dominant United States lifted its second United Cup mixed team tennis tournament title in three years after they beat Poland 2-0 on Sunday with Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz both winning their singles matches.
The top seeds in the $10 million tournament that began with 18 nations in contention clinched the trophy when Fritz defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 5-7 7-6(4) after Coco Gauff outclassed Iga Swiatek 6-4 6-4 in Sydney, Australia.
The Americans had also won the 2023 title in the inaugural edition of the tournament, which serves as a tune-up event for the Australian Open Grand Slam.
With the second singles contest locked at one set apiece, Fritz raised his level at 3-3 in the tiebreak of the decider to see off Hurkacz and spark huge celebrations.
‘Congratulations to Poland on a great week,’ said Fritz, addressing a dejected Polish side that finished runners-up at the tournament for a second successive year.
‘They’re an incredibly tough team and the margins were very small. I feel that it could have gone either way.
‘I want to thank my team, unbelievable support. The vibes all week were amazing. That’s one of the things that makes our team so great and one of the reasons why we’ve been able to do so well.
‘We’ve just really come together. It’s amazing.’
Gauff earlier stepped up preparations for the year’s first major that begins next Sunday with a second successive win over world number two Swiatek in a blockbuster showdown that gave fans at the Ken Rosewall Arena their money’s worth.
The world number three, who beat Swiatek en route to the WTA Finals title last season, squandered a 2-0 lead in the first set but battled back from there to gain the upper hand in the match as her opponent counted the costs of 19 unforced errors.
In another high-octane set that followed, Gauff recovered a break to level at 4-4 and went on to secure the win that ensured she ended her singles campaign at the tournament unbeaten.
‘I have the belief that I’m one of the best players in the world. When I play good tennis, I’m hard to beat,’ said Gauff, who also beat Leylah Fernandez, Donna Vekic, Zhang Shuai and Karolina Muchova in the event.
‘Today I think I played some great tennis. I’m glad I was able to get a point for Team USA. It was tough today, I’m not going to lie.’
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.