Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula of the United States celebrate next to the trophy after winning the United Cup. , Photo Credit: Reuters
The United States claimed the inaugural United Cup on Sunday with an emphatic performance over Italy in the final of the Mixed Teams event.
No. 9-ranked Taylor Fritz beat former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berretini 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) to give the United States an unassailable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup.
The Indian Wells Masters champion failed to convert nine break points but faced none on his serve and proved the more stable player in the two tiebreakers.
He was surrounded by his teammates at the Ken Rosewall Arena after winning the title for the Americans.
Fritz said, “We came into the event with really high expectations before the start and I was really happy to be in a position to win the match and when you win and everyone runs on you, it’s amazing. “
“We’ve got a lot of team bonding going on this week and it was a lot of fun.”
Jessica Pegula beat Martina Trevisan 6-4, 6-2 to put the US on winning ways as she continued her strong run of form, which included a win over top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Friday.
Frances Tiafoe, the 2022 US Open semi-finalist, extended the lead when Lorenzo Musetti withdrew with a shoulder injury after losing the first set of their match 6-2.
Madison Keys dominated the final for the US, defeating Lucia Branzetti 6-3, 7-2 to claim the title.
The US was considered a favorite based on team strength for the 18-nation tournament, where all four singles players were ranked in the top 20 in the world.
Entering the final, the US had lost just two of the 20 rubbers played against the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain and Poland.
Dual-Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova defeated Pegula in the opening tie of the event, while 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Cameron Norrie defeated Fritz in three sets on 4 January.
Similarly in Fritz’s 7-6, 7-6 win over Poland’s Hubert Hercz on Saturday, the struggle between Fritz and Berretini dominated serving.
But Berretini, who had lost in three sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Saturday’s semi-final against Greece, lost his composure early in the first tiebreaker and late in the second to hand Fritz the win.
Fritz said, “I got a lot of opportunities there and he played so well in those opportunities, so he made it really tough for me.”
Pegula won the first three games against Trevisan and then withstood the challenge of the No. 27 ranked player in the first set and earned a convincing victory.
No. 3-ranked Pegula said that as her team’s top-ranked player of any gender, she wanted to lead by example.
“I wanted to win because I’m the No. 1 American on the team. I wanted to hug her. I didn’t want to be ashamed of it.”
Tiafoe, No. 19, was in a dominant position against Musetti when the Italian ended the match at the opening point of the second set.
The 20-year-old had received medical treatment after losing serve after trailing 2-5 in the first set.
American coach David Witt, who is also Pegula’s personal coach, praised his players for their teamwork.
It is an honor to be his coach and enjoy the time we spend together. It’s been great,” he said.