No drama: Coco Gauff wins to give the US a 1-0 lead over Greece in United Cup quarterfinals
PERTH, Australia (AP) — After a singles loss and social media drama earlier in the week, Coco Gauff did all her talking on court Wednesday in the United Cup quarterfinals.
Gauff beat Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 to give the defending champion United States a 1-0 lead over Greece. Taylor Fritz had a chance in a singles match to follow against Stefanos Tsitsipas to advance the Americans to the semifinals in Sydney on Saturday.
On Monday, Gauff dropped a post on social media just before she started her singles match, hoping to add context to her recent comments about American tennis fans.
The ensuing match didn’t go well for the No. 4-ranked Gauff, who lost the first five games and struggled in a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-0 loss to No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. But Fritz won his singles match and Gauff and Christian Harrison combined in mixed doubles to clinch top spot in Group A and advance the Americans to the quarterfinals.
“I think I was striking the ball well today, and when that happens, my movement on the court is also good,” Gauff said Wednesday. “I usually know it’s going to be a good day.”
In a night quarterfinal at Perth, Stan Wawrinka, playing in his farewell tour this year before retiring, was scheduled to lead Switzerland against Argentina.
At Sydney, Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Świątek were victorious in their singles matches to give Poland a winning 2-0 lead over Netherlands and a place in the quarterfinals from Group F.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis