ATP

Fritz seals United Cup glory for USA

By Sports Desk January 08, 2023

Taylor Fritz claimed the deciding victory as the United States stormed into an unassailable 3-0 lead over Italy in the United Cup final.

Jessica Pegula and Frances Tiafoe paved the way for Fritz to be the hero with their victories over Martina Trevisan and Lorenzo Musetti earlier in Sunday's final in Sydney.

While Musetti retired hurt while trailing 6-2, WTA world number three Pegula dispatched Trevisan in straight sets, carrying on the form that saw her defeat Iga Swiatek in the USA's semi-final win over Poland.

And Fritz ensured that the inaugural United Cup went his nation's way with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-6) win over Matteo Berrettini, who clawed back the first championship point but was unable to prevent his opponent taking the second.

"It's great. It’s amazing for the team to win this event. We came in with really high hopes, or at least I did, for the event," said Fritz, who is ranked ninth in the world by the ATP after winning three titles in 2022.

"I was really happy to be in that position to clinch the match."

There were jubilant scenes as the USA team rushed to celebrate with Fritz, though Tiafoe was perhaps slightly overzealous.

"Just the emotions when you win and everyone comes running at you, it’s amazing," Fritz said. "I don’t know if you saw the replay but Frances basically headbutted me!"

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    Iga Swiatek's hopes of finishing as the year-end world number one were dashed after she fell to defeat against Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals on Tuesday. 

    Gauff earned her first triumph over Swiatek since the 2023 Cincinnati Open, emerging a 6-3 6-4 victor to reach the final four of the competition in Riyadh. 

    It means Aryna Sabalenka is now guaranteed to top the WTA rankings at the end of a calendar year for the first time in her career. 

    World number three Gauff finished the encounter with 10 winners to 33 unforced errors, 11 of which were double faults. Swiatek outpaced Gauff with 15 winners, but struck 47 unforced errors.

    At the age of 20 years and 237 days old, Gauff is the youngest American to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the WTA Finals since Tracy Austin (1979 and 1980).

    She is also the first player under the age of 21 to win both her first two round-robin matches at the year-end competition since Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova in 2007.

    "It feels great and despite our head-to-head I was still confident and I knew if I could find my game, I knew I had the chance to close out the match," Gauff told Sky Sports Tennis.

    "I was just trying to be resilient and play it deep. The conditions are tough and the altitude is tough.

    "I was trying not to give her too many unforced errors. It's just a game of cat and mouse in these conditions."

     

    In Tuesday's other match, Barbora Krejcikova ended Jessica Pegula's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the tournament with a straight-sets triumph. 

    The Wimbledon champion needed just 69 minutes to secure a 6-3 6-3 victory, serving 11 aces throughout the contest compared to Pegula's one. 

    World number 13 Krejcikova became the lowest-ranked player to win a match at the WTA Finals since Magdalena Maleeva (ranked 17th) defeated Daniela Hantuchova in 2002.

    The Czech will also have confidence of claiming the crown in Riyadh having won her previous events in Tallinn, Ostrava, Dubai and Wimbledon when beating an opponent in the WTA's top 10. 

    "I was fighting for every ball and I felt that I really have to play my best tennis," said Krejcikova, who picked up just her 20th match win of the season. 

    "I was trying to be really solid and trying to put as many balls to the other side as I could. 

    "I’m definitely proud. I had some very high parts of the season, especially winning Wimbledon. That’s something indescribable.

    "And being here in the Finals is a huge privilege. It’s nice to get the win and still be part of the event."

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    The 37-year-old, who lost to Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters in his last competitive appearance, is sat on 99 ATP Tour-level titles, and his wait for a 100th victory will now roll into 2025.

    Djokovic confirmed on Tuesday that he would not be participating in the ATP Finals.

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    In Monday's other match, Zheng Qinwen kept her hopes of reaching the final four alive with her win over Rybakina.

    The Olympic champion was forced to go the distance though, despite getting the first break in the first and second sets, but eventually came out on top 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-1 in just under two-and-a-half hours.

    Since the event's inauguration in 1972, Zheng is just the second Chinese player to win a match at the WTA Finals after Li Na.

    It was a milestone victory for the 22-year-old as well as she earned her 50th win of 2024, improving her record to 50-17, making her the first Chinese player in the Open Era to hit that mark in a calendar year, though she acknowledged she could have made things easier for herself.

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