Coco Gauff delivered a strong message to her competitors by guiding the United States into the United Cup quarterfinals, marking their third consecutive appearance. The American team secured victory with straight-set wins from Gauff and Taylor Fritz against Croatia during Tuesday’s match in Perth, granting them an insurmountable 2-0 lead. As champions from two years ago, Team USA will now face China, aiming for a semifinal place.
Fritz, ranked fourth globally, continued his successful season with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over Borna Coric to secure the quarterfinal spot. Gauff then avenged her previous Olympics loss to Donna Vekic by defeating her 6-4, 6-2, eliminating Croatia from the tournament after their earlier defeat by Canada. Reflecting on her performance, Gauff expressed satisfaction, highlighting the Olympics loss as fuel for her motivation.
Having ended the 2024 season impressively by securing both the WTA Finals and the China Open, Gauff, at 20, is already a grand slam champion but remains determined, stating her goal to “just do better” in the upcoming 2025 season.
Italy also advanced to the quarterfinals after Flavio Cobolli achieved a surprising 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 6-2 victory over France’s Ugo Humbert in Sydney. Cobolli’s win was crucial for Italy, as they only needed one match to ensure advancement. Despite Humbert’s strong start, Cobolli displayed resilience by overcoming a break deficit and surviving a match point to triumph.
Jasmine Paolini easily defeated Chloe Paquet, adding to Italy’s 2-0 triumph, with Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori concluding the event by winning the mixed doubles. Italy, a formidable team and past Davis Cup winners, topped Group D even without top player Jannik Sinner. They await the results of the Group F matches to discover their next opponent in the quarterfinals, which could be Great Britain or Australia.
