United Cup outcomes: Alex de Minaur, Zoe Hives, Nice Britain, Brazil, Italy, Iga Swiatek, Ash Barty

World No. 14 Cameron Norrie defeated de Minaur 6-3 6-3 at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Enviornment, aided by a bunch of unforced errors by the Australian, whereas Katie Swan beat Hives 6-4 6-3.

Nice Britain’s 2-nil lead means Australia should win the three remaining matches between the nations, earlier than they tackle Spain subsequent week.

De Minaur made 22 unforced errors to Norrie’s 9, and couldn’t break his opponent’s serve.

Norrie broke de Minaur at 3-1 within the first and comfortably claimed the set.

At 4-2 down within the second, de Minaur saved three break factors to win his service recreation and preserve Australia’s hopes alive.

However Norrie received the subsequent two factors to seal victory, regardless of de Minaur saving two match factors.

“Properly, look, it’s the primary match of a brand new season, [you’re] both going to start out nicely or not. It in all probability wasn’t my greatest efficiency, however [I’ve] bought heaps to stay up for,” de Minaur stated.

“I believe I made a pair too many errors right this moment in sure areas, and simply didn’t play my general greatest tennis. It’s the best way the cookie crumbles typically.

“Finally you need to begin the season in one of the simplest ways potential and actually get in a groove early on. Generally it occurs. First time you step out on court docket, it looks like all the pieces has labored.

“Clearly that is my first match shortly, and it simply didn’t click on right this moment. I’d like to hopefully construct on that and do my greatest to get that feeling again.”

Later, Hives succumbed to the strain of Swan.

Australia’s hopes will relaxation with Ajla Tomljanovic and Jason Kubler, who will tackle Harriet Dart and Dan Evans respectively on Friday night time.

The brand new groups occasion, that includes 5 matches together with a blended doubles contest because the fifth recreation, is being performed throughout Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

11PM BENCIC GIVES SWITZERLAND AN EARLY EDGE

Emma Greenwood

World No. 12 Belinda Bencic has been made to battle onerous for the opening level in Switzerland’s tie in opposition to Kazakhstan regardless of finally profitable in straight units.

Bencic was a drawcard for the Brisbane night time session and needed to battle onerous to beat Yulia Putintseva (51) in an entertaining 7-6 6-3 victory on Pat Rafter Enviornment.

“I felt good, I felt very feisty staying within the match, combating for each level despite the fact that at first (it was robust),” Bencic stated of getting back from 4-1 down within the first set and a deficit once more within the second.

“After all it’s a brand new match and season, you have got a unique atmosphere and you must get into the match and see the way it goes however I’m fairly pleased with the way it went and it felt actually good as soon as I used to be within the battle.”

6.20PM BRAZIL AND ITALY LOCKED AT 1-1

Emma Greenwood

Lorenzo Musetti has locked up the United Cup match between Italy and Brazil after profitable his singles conflict with Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves 6-3 6-4 in Brisbane.

Brazil took an early lead after Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-0 within the opening rubber.

After a decent opening to the primary set, world no. 15 Haddad Maia discovered her groove and received comfortably to seal the primary factors of the competitors at Pat Rafter Enviornment.

“The primary match for everybody within the pre-season is a unique type of competitors,” Hadad Maia stated.

The final time the pair performed, Haddad Maia had taken three units to beat Trevisan on her solution to turning into the primary Brazilian girl to succeed in a WTA 1000 remaining on the Canadian Open in Toronto.

However she had the Italian’s quantity extra rapidly in Brisbane.

“I used to be making an attempt to push myself each single level to play higher to enhance my recreation and being aggressive and that mentality that I used to be constructing in the course of the recreation helped me to enhance till the tip,” she stated.

Teammate Rodrigues Alves was unable to increase the lead regardless of a spirited second-set fightback in opposition to Musetti that threatened to take the match to a decider.

However the Italian refocused to get the job executed in straight units and lock the tie up forward of tomorrow’s matches.

Matteo Berrettini will tackle Thiago Monteiro within the males’s singles, with Lucia Bronzetti up for Italy in opposition to Laura Pigossi within the ladies’s reverse singles earlier than Camilla Rosatello and Marco Bortolotti line up in opposition to Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos within the blended doubles.

THE MESSAGE WORLD NO. 1 WANTS TO SEND BARTY

Emma Greenwood

Runaway world No. 1 Iga Swiatek hopes to reunite with Ash Barty in Brisbane this week to thank the girl who fuelled her record-breaking season.

Swiatek, who admitted to crying for greater than half an hour on studying of Barty’s retirement earlier this yr, stated she had blended emotions on studying of the Aussie’s shock name.

“When Ash retired, I felt like blended feelings as a result of I felt like she nonetheless has the most effective tennis on the market,” Swiatek stated in Brisbane at a media occasion together with her Poland teammates forward of their United Cup marketing campaign begin on Thursday.

“Hopefully perhaps this week we’re going to have the ability to meet and I’m going to say it straight to her, however she actually impressed me to work more durable.

“Her totally different recreation type made me realise that there’s all the time room for enchancment.

“Even proper now I really feel like there’s a lot I can change and enhance and I’m fairly excited that even once I had such a pleasant season this yr I can do some totally different stuff.”

Swiatek primarily inherited the No. 1 rating after Barty’s retirement in March and whereas the Aussie hailed the depth within the ladies’s recreation on the time, she couldn’t have predicted the run the Pole was about to go on.

Swiatek made 9 finals, snaring eight titles together with the French Open and US Open this yr, together with an unbeaten streak of 37 matches between February and July to point out she greater than deserves to be on prime of the world.

And whereas she is pleased with her document, she conceded that ascending to No. 1 attributable to Barty’s retirement left her feeling she wanted to show herself.

“At first I felt like I wasn’t certain if that is my place to be, ,” Swiatek stated.

“Ash, she appeared like an enormous position mannequin for everyone by way of her behaviour on court docket but additionally off court docket.

“So I felt like she actually … how’s it known as … she actually set the bar fairly excessive, so I would like to point out it to folks but additionally present it to myself that I’m in the appropriate place.”

The lady Barty known as an “distinctive human” holds an enormous rankings lead over world No. 2, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, however is targeted on bettering once more to remain on the prime.

“At the start of (subsequent) yr, I’m going to attempt to type of reduce off all the pieces that occurred final yr and simply give attention to the longer term as a result of I really feel like I can take plenty of expertise from these tournaments final yr, however I don’t need to actually maintain on to that an excessive amount of, as a result of I need to go ahead and type of give attention to my subsequent targets,” she stated.

“My purpose is to simply give attention to the longer term and attempt to enhance as a tennis participant.”

Initially printed as United Cup: Comply with the information and outcomes from new groups occasion