Britain, Spain open United Cup with wins to start new season

Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter handed Britain a 2-0 win over host Australia on the opening day of the United Cup mixed team tournament Friday as the new tennis season began after a short break with the focus on next month’s Australian Open.

Spain beat Brazil 2-1 to start the revamped $10 million tournament that features 18 countries with ties taking place in Perth and Sydney.

Norrie overcame a dip midway through his Group C clash with Alex de Minaur to prevail 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (2) at the packed RAC Arena and snap his nine-match losing streak against opponents ranked inside the world’s top 20.

“I really had to dig deep and play very brave in that third set,” Norrie said. “It is always tough playing Alex. He is a good friend of mine, and we always have battles. I knew I would have to run a lot today, and I did. It was a great atmosphere.”

De Minaur’s British girlfriend Boulter then settled the tie with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic, who missed the majority of last season due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter gave Australia a consolation victory when they teamed up to win the mixed doubles 6-3, 7-6 (5) against Boulter and Neal Skupski.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and mixed doubles partner Sara Sorribes Tormo earlier beat the pair of Beatriz Haddad Maia and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-5 in the decider of the Group A tie between Spain and Brazil.

United Cup debutant Davidovich Fokina put Spain up 1-0 by defeating Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-0 in the first match of the season, dominating his opponent from the baseline and not facing a break point throughout the contest.

But Brazil hit back through world No. 11 Haddad Maia, who downed Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (1), 6-2 in a rematch of their marathon French Open fourth-round clash earlier this year.

“To come back and play with Sara, I think we had a great time on court and we enjoyed a lot,” world No. 26 Davidovich Fokina told reporters. “We didn’t care … obviously we care, but the result was like the last thing. We were enjoying out there, just to keep improving also.”

World No. 1s Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek are among the big names who will be in action in the coming days as they warm up for the opening Grand Slam of the new year, which will run from Jan. 14-28 in Melbourne.

The Czech Republic will meet China and Poland plays Brazil in Perth on Saturday while the Netherlands takes on Norway and Italy faces Germany in Sydney. The final is scheduled for Jan. 7.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.