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Tennis roundup: U.S. wins inaugural United Cup

Sep 23, 2022; London, United Kingdom;  Team World players, Taylor Fritz (USA) and Frances Tiafoe (USA),  show their support in the Laver Cup tennis match between Andy Murray (GBR) and Alex De Minaur (AUS) as Team World captain John McEnroe looks on.  Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Fritz clinched the inaugural United Cup trophy for Team United States with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) victory against Matteo Berrettini of Team Italy in Sunday in Sydney, Australia.

Fritz’s victory gave the U.S. an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the 18-nation, mixed-team competition. Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe also registered wins for the dominant Americans, who lost only two individual matches in the entire tournament.

“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,” Fritz said. “I was really happy to be in that position to clinch the match.”

Pegula defeated Martina Trevisan 6-4, 6-2 and Keys was a 6-3, 6-2 winner against Lucia Bronzetti. Tiafoe won the first set 6-2 before Lorenzo Musetti retired. Keys and Tiafoe both finished the United Cup with 5-0 records, while Pegula and Fritz were both 4-1 and the team had a combined 22-2 match record.

Adelaide International 1

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia saved a championship point at 5-6 in the second set before rallying to defeat Sebastian Korda 6-7 (8), 7-6 (3), 6-4 for the title in Adelaide, Australia.

Djokovic, 35, needed three hours and nine minutes to put away the unseeded American and lift his 92nd ATP Tour-level trophy. Korda struck 15 aces but only had two break chances, converting one.

On the women’s side, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus collected her 11th career title with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win against 18-year-old Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic. Sabalenka did not lose a set all week, winning for the first time since Madrid in May 2021.

ASB Classic

No. 1 seed Coco Gauff completed a dominant week and claimed her third title with a swift 6-1, 6-1 victory against Spanish qualifier Rebeka Masarova in Auckland, New Zealand.

It was the 18-year-old American’s first trophy since May 2021 in Parma, Italy, and her first on a hard court since October 2019 in Linz, Austria.

Gauff did not lose a set in five matches, dropping only 22 games. She saved all 10 break points she faced against Masarova and converted five of 10 break chances.

Tata Open Maharashtra

Tallon Griekspoor rallied to claim his first ATP Tour title with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory against fellow first-time finalist Benjamin Bonzi of France in Pune, India.

Griekspoor, of the Netherlands, trailed 5-4 in the second set before rallying to even the match. He broke Bonzi’s serve in the third and final games of the deciding set to capture the trophy.

Griekspoor racked up 17 aces and saved three of the four break points he faced in the two-hour, 16-minute final.

–Field Level Media

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