United Cup: De Minaur maintains his success but Argentina stun Australia in opener

Sydney, Dec 28 (IANS) Alex de Minaur maintained his success rate at the United Cup to give Australia the lead in their opening match but his effort went in vain as Argentina stunned the hosts 2-1 in the mixed-gender team competition here on Saturday and dent their chances of winning their maiden title in the event.

Nadia Podoroska, the 2020 Roland Garros semifinalist, had fought through her season opener in the first match of the tie to give Argentina a 1-0 lead. Podoroska earned a tidy 6-2, 6-4 win over Olivia Gadecki. De Minaur defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 6-4 to level his country's tie with Argentina at 1-1 and forced the deciding mixed doubles clash in a Group F clash.

De Minaur produced a nearly flawless performance to force a deciding mixed doubles clash in front of a raucous crowd. But Maria Lourdes Carle and Tomas Martin Etcheverry responded well, beating doubles standouts Matthew Ebden and Ellen Perez 6-2, 6-4 to seal their country's victory and leave the Australian crowd and dent the home side's chances of lifting its first trophy at the mixed-teams event.

At 4-3 in the second set, the Australians piled on the pressure, earning a 0/40 advantage and four consecutive break points on Carle's serve. But the WTA's World No. 94 remained calm under pressure, holding her nerve and serve to escape the jam. While Etcheverry and Carle played courageously in key moments, Ebden and Perez also struggled to find the level that has made them two of the best doubles players in the world, misfiring on big points.

While the Australians had their crowd to support, the Argentines also had a vocal section of fans. "Super happy. It's our first time playing together and I trust him," Carle said. "I was like, 'Okay, let's do it and let's have fun'. And we did. I think we played very well with a very high energy. That was our goal to do today."

Earlier, De Minaur eased past Etcheverry 6-1, 6-4 in the second match of the tie to give his country a chance in the Group F battle.

"I think just being back here in Sydney [helped]. I love it here," De Minaur said. "I love playing here. I get to play in front of friends, family and in front of my home crowd, so what better way to start the new season?"

De Minaur is now 5-2 in singles at the United Cup. In 2023 he defeated Rafael Nadal at the event and in the 2024 edition, the Aussie earned victories against three Top 10 opponents, including Novak Djokovic. The win served as a measure of revenge for De Minaur. Etcheverry entered the clash with a 1-0 lead in their ATP heat-to-head series thanks to a straight-sets triumph at Roland Garros in 2023.

De Minaur was undeterred by that defeat, using his backhand down the line to great effect in critical moments and winning 88 per cent of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats. He did not face a break point.

In the preceding women's singles, Podoroska, who is ranked No. 100 in the WTA Rankings, did her best to silence the partisan home crowd by breaking the 97th-ranked Gadecki in her opening service game. The 27-year-old stayed perfect on serve before engineering a second break to lead 5-2 before serving out the set. Gadecki, 22, bounced back early in the second set. The Queenslander made her Top 100 debut in September after a rousing run to her first Hologic WTA Tour final in Guadalajara.

After being broken to fall behind 2-1 in the second set, Gadecki steeled herself to earn her first break-point chance of the night and converted to level at 2-2. Another exchange of breaks took the set to 4-4 before Podoroska sealed the final break of the night to lead 5-4 and served out the win. In all, Podoroska earned seven break points against the Gadecki serve, converting five times. Gadecki saw just three break chances.

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