On Tuesday in Australia, the third of three ties in each of the six round-robin groups of the inaugural United Cup will conclude. The current group standings can be found here.
Day 6 will define the six teams advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament. Great Britain and the United States have already secured their spots, and will collide in the next round. Which four countries will join them?
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most prominent matches on the schedule. Tuesday’s play gets underway at 10:00am local time in all three cities.
Matteo Berrettini [ITA] vs. Casper Ruud [NOR] – 10:00am in Brisbane
Italy won their first tie against Brazil, while Norway lost theirs, and is mathematically eliminated from advancement. Italy leads Norway 2-0 in this tie. If Italy wins one of their three matches on Tuesday, they advance. If Norway wins all three matches on Tuesday, Brazil advances.
Both Ruud and Berrettini defeated Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro in straight sets in their opening singles matches. Ruud is coming off a milestone 2022 season, where he went 51-22, and achieved his first two Major finals. Matteo went just 32-12, as he missed the entire clay court season due to a right hand injury, missed Wimbledon due to COVID, and missed the end of the season due to a foot injury.
Ruud is 4-2 against Berrettini, though four of those matches took place on clay. They’ve split their two hard court meetings, which both occurred at the US Open. In 2020, Matteo prevailed in straight sets. In 2022, Casper prevailed in straight sets. Based on recent form, and their most recent encounter, Ruud is a slight favorite to be victorious on Tuesday.
Hurbert Hurkacz [POL] vs. Stan Wawrinka [SUI] – Not Before 4:30pm in Brisbane
Poland and Switzerland both won their first ties, then split their matches on Monday. Whichever nation wins this tie will advance to the knockout stage.
Hurkacz and Wawrinka both defeated Alexander Bublik in their first singles matches, though only Hubi required a third set to do so. Hurkacz was 41-21 last season, with only one title (Halle), and a modest 5-4 record at Slams. Wawrinka went just 10-15 at all levels after missing a year of action due to injury.
In the first career meeting between these two players, Hurkacz must be favored. While Wawrinka earned some impressive wins this past fall, over the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Ruud, he has not fully rediscovered his top form. If Poland and Switzerland split Tuesday’s singles matches, this tie will come down to mixed doubles, and could see Hubi and Stan back on court, teaming with Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic, respectively.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Maria Sakkari [GRE] vs. Elise Mertens [BEL] – Greece needs to win just one of three matches on Tuesday to advance, while Belgium needs to win all three. Sakkari and Mertens both won their opening singles contests. Sakkari is 5-4 against Mertens at all levels.
Caroline Garcia [FRA] vs. Petra Martic [CRO] – Whichever nation wins this tie will advance. Croatia leads 2-0. Both players won their first singles matches. Garcia leads their head-to-head 4-1.
The United Cup daily schedule is here.
