Australia's Alex de Minaur hits a forehand shot against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a Group F clash at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia, December 28, 2024. /CFP
Alex de Minaur swept past Tomas Martin Etcheverry to win his first match of the season, but it was not enough to prevent Argentina from upsetting host Australia 2-1 in Group F at the United Cup on Saturday.
The World No. 9 crushed his South American opponent 6-1, 6-4 to level the tie, after teammate Olivia Gadecki fell to Nadia Podoroska 6-2, 6-4 in the opening women's singles rubber at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
But the home side couldn't pull out the deciding mixed doubles match, as Etcheverry returned to partner with Maria Carle to defeat Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez 6-2, 6-4, sealing the overall victory for Argentina.
In Group D, former Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic won her first Tour-level match since the 2023 US Open, helping Switzerland edge France 2-1. The 27-year-old former World No. 4, who is now ranked 487th, took down Chloe Paquet 6-3, 6-1, winning 10 of the last 11 games.
Her teammate Dominic Stricker lost 6-3, 7-5 against Ugo Humbert in the men's singles clash, sending the tie to a mixed doubles decider. Bencic joined forces with Stricker to battle past Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Elixane Lechemia 6-1, 7-6(4), clinching the overall win for Switzerland.
In Group A in Perth, Canada bounced back after Felix Auger-Aliassime lost his singles rubber, prevailing 2-1 over Croatia. The North Americans sealed the win over the Europeans with a 6-3, 6-4 mixed doubles victory by Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez against Lucija Ciric Bagaric and Ivan Dodig.
After 2021 US Open finalist Fernandez easily dispatched Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3 to start the tie, Auger-Aliassime quickly got into trouble against Borna Coric, succumbing 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Maria Sakkari takes a swing in Greece's Group C meeting with Spain at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia, December 28, 2024. /CFP
Former Top 10 players Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas relied on a mixed doubles victory to lead Greece past Spain 2-1 in Group C, knocking the Iberians out of the competition, as they fell to 0-2 after previously falling to Kazakhstan on Friday.
Sakkari was beaten 6-2, 6-1 in singles by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who produced the statement win of her career just one day after losing to former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. The 11th-ranked Tsitsipas knotted the tie at one match apiece with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 triumph over Pablo Carreno Busta, coming from a break down in the final set.
The deciding mixed doubles rubber was also tight, with the Greek pair earning a hard-fought victory against Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers and Sergio Martos Gornes 4-6, 6-3, 10-6, after Sakkari earned three match points to set up the triumph.
The 18-nation mixed-team United Cup is taking place in Perth and Sydney. The tournament opened serve on Friday with Spain losing 2-1 against Kazakhstan, while China swept past Brazil 3-0.