Stefanos Tsitsipas contributed both victories to Greece's 2-1 win over Spain on Day 2 of the United Cup which also saw Argentina, Canada and Switzerland prevail.
SYDNEY, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas started his season with a gritty victory on Saturday as third-seeded Greece overcame Spain at the United Cup.
Greece, Argentina, Canada and Switzerland were winners on Day 2 of the mixed team tournament.
Despite coming off a lackluster season, world No. 11 Tsitsipas remains a significant drawcard in men's tennis and looms as a contender at the Australian Open, having finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2023.
Tsitsipas had a second set lapse against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta before regrouping to record a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory in two hours and eight minutes at Perth's RAC Arena.
"I fought it through. In some situations, I really struggled to get back into the match," said Tsitsipas, who hit 19 winners and 13 aces for the match. "Pablo was playing very good tennis, so I came up with some good returns and a little bit of offensive tennis, and that helped me out."
Tsitsipas needed to win after Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro easily beat Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-1 in 72 minutes.
Sakkari looked rusty in her return from a shoulder injury sustained at the US Open, as Bouzas capitalized to bounce back from her straight-set loss to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina on Friday.
Tsitsipas and Sakkari came from behind in the mixed doubles to defeat Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers and Sergio Martos Gornes 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. The result means Spain can't progress beyond the group stages, having lost to Kazakhstan in their opener.
In the earlier tie in Perth, Canada defeated Croatia 2-1 in Group A after clinching the deciding mixed doubles when Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Ivan Dodig and Lucija Ciric Bagaric in straight sets.
Fernandez had gotten Canada off to a winning start in the women's singles after upsetting the higher-ranked Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3.
"I'm super happy with the way that I played, the way that I stayed consistent in the tough moments," said Fernandez, who was a finalist at the 2021 US Open.
But Borna Coric dramatically leveled the tie for Croatia after shrugging off a slow start to record a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback victory over Auger-Aliassime.
World No. 9 Alex de Minaur was Australia's only bright spot in their 2-1 loss to Argentina at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena.
After Nadia Podoroska beat Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-4 in the women's singles, De Minaur squared the tie much to the delight of the home fans with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 win over Tomas Etcheverry in 76 minutes.
"Just being back here in Sydney, I love it here," said De Minaur, who has never made it past the quarterfinals of a grand slam. "I just told myself to back myself and play the type of tennis I wanted to play."
However, Australia's momentum was squandered after Matthew Ebden and Ellen Perez lost the mixed doubles in straight sets to Etcheverry and Maria Carle.
Earlier, Switzerland prevailed 2-1 over France in the first tie played in Sydney.
Belinda Bencic gave Switzerland an early lead with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Chloe Paquet before 14th-ranked Ugo Humbert leveled the tie for France with a 6-3, 7-5 result over Dominic Stricker.
Bencic and Sticker combined in the decisive mixed doubles to fend off Elizane Lechemia and Edouard Roger-Vasseli 6-1, 7-6 (4).
Former world No. 4 Bencic's comeback gained steam after giving birth to her first child in April. Having returned to competitive tennis in October, Bencic enjoyed her first win at a tour-level event since the 2023 US Open.
"I'm really excited to be back," said Bencic, the Tokyo Olympic women's singles gold medalist. "I had a little bit of nerves at the start and a little bit of rust, so I'm happy I kind of accepted that and tried to fight through it."
During an action-packed Day 3 on Sunday, top-seeded United States will start its tournament against Canada, while men's world No. 2 Alexander Zverev will lead Germany against Brazil. ■
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