For the third time in four editions, Greece advance to the knockout round (read quarterfinals) of the United Cup. Stefanos Tsistipas’ and Maria Sakkari’s three-set victories secured the Group E tie against Great Britain at the RAC Arena in Perth on Monday.
Olivia Nicholls and Neal Skupski did earn a 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 mixed doubles victory for Great Britain in the final match of the tie against Despina Papamichail and Stefanos Sakellaridis. Greece took the tie 3-1
Notably, Sakkari’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win over Emma Raducanu, was her first career victory against the Briton on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Sakkari is now 2-0 in singles to start the season, defeating Naomi Osaka on January 2 in the win over Japan, according to the ATP tour.com.
“Emma, I’ve had four tough losses against her so to get that first win against her, against a great opponent, it means a lot, especially delivering for Team Greece,” Sakkari said on-court.
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Earlier, Tsitsipas dug deep for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) win over Billy Harris to set the tone. In a hard-fought battle, Tsitsipas rallied after a slow start to give Greece a 1-0 lead. The 27-year-old struggled to find his range on his backhand throughout the two-hour, 15-minute clash, but inflicted enough damage on his forehand and held his nerve in the third-set tie-break to triumph.
“I got fed up losing matches like that (last year),” Tsitsipas said. “I lost one in September, and I just tried everything in my power to not have the same thing happen again. I am grateful to overcome that. It had a crazy energy out here.
“I would like to congratulate Billy. He put up an incredible performance. I haven’t played such a high-quality match in such a long time. He did great, pushing me to my limits. I think matches like that are great for the sport.”
Tsitsipas helped Greece beat Japan in their opening United Cup tie with a win against Shintaro Mochizuki and now holds an 8-2 singles record at the mixed-teams event. It is the first time the No. 36 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has earned consecutive wins since Barcelona last April, when he reached the quarterfinals.
