Frances Tiafoe has delivered a profitable encore to Jessica Pegula’s spectacular upset of world No.1 Iga Swiatek to offer the USA a 2-0 lead over Poland within the opening United Cup semi-final in Sydney.
Pegula reversed a run of 4 straight losses to Swiatek with a commanding 6-2 6-2 victory over the reigning French and US Open champion and sizzling Australian Open favorite.
Tiafoe, a 2022 US Open semi-finalist, then lived as much as expectations with a 6-3 6-3 win over world No.245 Kacper Zuk within the opening males’s singles match to ram residence Team USA’s benefit forward of Saturday’s remaining three rubbers.
Poland might want to win all of these matches to grab the tie, beginning with world No.10 Hubert Hurkacz’s tussle with the ninth-ranked Taylor Fritz.
Magda Linette faces 2022 Australian Open semi-finalist Madison Keys within the second girls’s singles encounter earlier than Swiatek and Hurkacz are scheduled to tackle Pegula and Fritz within the doubtlessly decisive blended doubles.
Pegula can be brimming with confidence if she known as upon for an additional reside rubber on Saturday.
Hardly a slouch herself after rising to No.3 within the rankings following a stellar 2022 marketing campaign, the impressed 28-year-old by no means blinked beneath a closed roof at Ken Rosewall Arena.
Pegula broke Swiatek 5 occasions and dropped her personal serve solely as soon as in storming to her first win over the three-time grand slam champion since 2019.
“I’ve played her in a lot of different places but I definitely feel like these were the fastest conditions,” Pegula mentioned.
“Also Poland had a tough turnaround yesterday (flying from Brisbane) and we’ve been lucky enough to have been playing here, and maybe have a little bit of an advantage in being used to the courts.
“So I needed to take that and use it as a lot as I may and I did a very good job taking part in actually aggressive, serving sensible and returning very well.”
Unbeaten in nine singles and doubles matches between them, Pegula (5-0) and Tiafoe (4-0) have put the USA in the box seat to be the first team through to Sunday’s final.
“Let’s simply maintain going. Let’s win this factor,” Tiafoe mentioned.
“My confidence has been fairly excessive for somewhat bit. I’ve been taking part in a few of the finest tennis of my life proper now and I’m simply having enjoyable on the market on courtroom.
“Just competing, comfortable in myself, comfortable in my game, and I’m happy with where I’m at – but I can get better.”
Greece and Italy will play the opening two singles rubbers of the second semi-final in Sydney afterward Friday evening.
Maria Sakkari faces Martina Trevisan earlier than Michail Pervolarakis takes on Lorenzo Musetti.
The characteristic match of the second semi-final is Saturday’s showdown between grand slam finalists Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini.
That precedes the second girls’s singles conflict between Despina Papamichail and Lucia Bronzetti and the blended involving Tsitsipas and Sakkari in opposition to Musetti and Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
