The United States, Greece and Italy won the United Cup mixed team tennis

SYDNEY (AP) The United States has beaten the Czech Republic 3-1 in the mixed United Cup after Frances Tiafoe’s American opponent Tomas Machac retired with a right ankle injury in the second set of the singles match on Friday.

Top ranked Greece and Italy also won on Friday.

Tiafoe won the first set 6-3 at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, but trailed his Czech opponent 4-2 in the second when the match ended due to Machac’s injury. After trying to get a hand shot from Tiafoe, Machac was able to get to his feet, but after consulting with the doctor and his team, he decided he could not continue.

We were in the middle of a fight, Tiafoe said. It’s a shame that I crossed the border like this. You don’t want to see it. I hope he makes it to the Australian Open.

The Americans took a 2-0 lead into the second day of the five-match series after Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys won their singles match on Thursday.

However, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova saved seven set points to beat world number three Jessica Pegula 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the first match on Friday to keep the Czechs in contention.

We will continue to fight, Kvitova said. I think USA is a great team with great players. We are not real favorites here, but we will fight in every match and every point. That’s our team spirit.

Down 5-1 in the tiebreak, Kvitova played out three match points before earning the eighth match point at 7-6 to eventually seal the set. After escaping the first set, Kvitova broke Pegula twice to build a quick 3-0 lead.

In the second match on Friday, Greece reached their best by beating Bulgaria 3-0 in Perth, Western Australia. Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) and Despina Papamichail beat Isabella Shinikova 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a set and break.

On Friday, Maria Sakkari completed the Greek victory with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Viktoriya Tomova.

And Matteo Berrettini got his season off to a good start as Italy beat Brazil 3-1 in Brisbane. The Italian defeated Brazilian number one Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 7-6 (7) to give her country a 2-1 lead, while Lucia Bronzetti won the Group E encounter when she defeated Laura Pigossi 6-0, 6-2.

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Pretty happy I must say. It’s been a long time since I played my last singles game so I didn’t know what to expect. I think the level was quite high, Berrettini said. I’m happy with my performance, but of course when you play in these kinds of competitions, the most important thing is to get a win and bring a point to the team, and that’s why I’m even happier.

Two singles, one men’s and one women’s, will be played over two days, with mixed doubles rounding off the five-match encounter on day two.

The inaugural United Cup features teams from 18 countries competing in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney until January 4. The three city champions and the next most successful country in the group stage will meet at Ken Rosewall Arena on the 6th-8th. January. determine the overall winner.

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