Italy will face the United States in the United Cup final after Bronzetti’s win
Italy will play the United States in the final of the inaugural United Cup in Sydney after defeating Greece in a semi-final of the mixed team competition on Saturday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas kept Greek hopes alive by defeating Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a clash between two Grand Slam finalists after Italy won the first two singles on Friday.
The world No.4 held his nerve in a thrilling contest before breaking Berrettini for the first time midway through the deciding set to maintain his unbeaten United Cup record.
“Somehow I stayed in there. He’s a great server. He hits some bombs constantly. You have to accept it, move on from that point and focus on your serve,” Tsitsipas said.
But Lucia Bronzetti secured a place in the final for Italy by beating Valentini Grammatikopoulou 6-2 6-3 to give her nation an unassailable 3-1 lead in the tie played at the Ken Rosewall Arena.
“We’re a great team and I’m really excited, really happy right now,” she said.
All five games of the final between the United States and Italy will be played in Sydney on Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, Taylor Fritz beat Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) to earn a U.S. spot in the final.
Fritz put the U.S. up 3-0 in the best-of-five match, and 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys made it 4-0 by defeating Magda Linette 6-4, 6 -2.
Jessica Pegula accompanied Fritz to a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 10-6 win over Alicja Rosolska and Lukasz Kubot to sweep the US semifinals.
Pegula and Frances Tiafoe had given the Americans a big lead by taking Friday’s opening singles matches, including Pegula’s win against No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
In the second tiebreaker of their match, ninth-ranked Fritz found success during rallies targeting tenth-ranked Hurkacz’s right wing, causing errors at crucial points. Hurkacz was clearly angry after making three consecutive forehand errors to drop a tiebreaker he had led 5-4.
“No one could go through one (break of serve), but I think the difference in the tiebreakers is that I served well and put some returns on the court, played some really solid points and didn’t give him anything,” Fritz. said
Fritz has represented the United States in Davis Cup, but said pairing up with the country’s best players enhanced the experience in the new 18-nation team competition.
“I’ve played a lot with Team USA and I think it’s a huge advantage to have girls on our team this time because it just makes the whole team that much stronger,” she said.
“I’m really excited to go to the final and I think we’ve been favorites all week.”
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