US, Italy win first United Cup tennis ties

Joel Gould | December 30, 2022

An injury retirement has given the United States an unassailable 3-1 lead over the Czech Republic on day two of the inaugural United Cup tennis tournament.

Italy also took a 3-1 lead over Brazil in their best-of-five-match tie when Lucia Bronzetti blew Laura Pigossi off the court with a 6-0 6-2 win at Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane.

World No.19 Frances Tiafoe had taken the first set 6-3 against Czech player Tomas Machac, but Machac was leading 4-2 in the second set when he rolled his ankle and was forced to retire from Friday’s match in Sydney.

Tiafoe said Machac was playing extremely well when he went down, and he felt for his opponent.

“We were in the midst of a battle,” Tiafoe told the Nine Network after the win.

“It sucks that I got over the line this way. You don’t want to see that. Hopefully he can get right for the Australian Open.”

Tiafoe said that he hoped the US could “do something special” in the rest of the United Cup.

The Czech Republic had earlier stayed in the tie courtesy of Petra Kvitova’s 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 win over world No.3 Jessica Pegula. The US had a 2-0 lead after the first day’s play.

The first set went for a marathon 76 minutes and 13 per cent of the points played were set points.

Both women saved multiple set points and it was no surprise that the opening set went to a tiebreaker.

Pegula was in control when leading 5-1 but Kvitova fought back brilliantly to take the tiebreak.

The world No.16 then broke Pegula early in the second set and did not take her foot off the throat.

In Brisbane, the power game of Italy’s Matteo Berrettini proved decisive in his 6-4 7-6 (9-7) win over Brazilian Thiago Monteiro. The win gave Italy a 2-1 lead in their tie after both countries won matches on day one.

The Italian world No.16 raced through his service games in the opening set and broke his opponent to take the first set courtesy of awesome forehand hitting.

Monteiro was tenacious and took the second set to a tiebreaker where Berrettini won after saving two set points.

Bronzetti then put the tie out of reach for Brazil with a near perfect first set against Pigossi and she backed it up in the second.