Daily Tribune‘I felt comfortable with the way I was playing before the tournament, so I just told myself to back myself and play the type of tennis I wanted to play.’
Australia's Alex de Minaur won his first match of the season at the United Cup
DAVID GRAY / AFP
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Alex de Minaur swept past Tomas Martin Etcheverry to win his first match of the season but it was not enough to prevent Argentina upsetting host Australia at the United Cup, while Switzerland beat France.
The world No. 9 crushed his opponent 6-1, 6-4 to level the tie after teammate Olivia Gadecki crashed to Nadia Podoroska 6-2, 6-4 in the women’s singles rubber at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
But the home side couldn’t lift in the deciding mixed doubles with Etcheverry returning to partner Maria Carle and beat Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez 6-2, 6-4.
Despite losing the tie, De Minaur was happy with his early-season form.
“I’ve been putting in some great work in the pre-season,” he said.
“I felt comfortable with the way I was playing before the tournament, so I just told myself to back myself and play the type of tennis I wanted to play.”
Former Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic won her first tour-level match since the 2023 US Open to help Switzerland beat France.
The 27-year-old, a one-time world number four who is now ranked 487, took down Chloe Paquet 6-3, 6-1, winning 10 of the last 11 games.
While she tentatively returned to the court at low-key events in November after having a baby in April, it was her first win at tour-level since her third-round victory at the 2023 US Open.
Her teammate Dominic Stricker slumped 6-3, 7-5 to Ugo Humbert in their singles clash to send the tie to the mixed doubles.
Bencic fronted up again alongside Stricker to down Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Elixane Lechemia 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) and earn Switzerland the win.
“I’m really excited to be back, of course,” said Bencic, who won Olympic gold at the 2021 Tokyo Games and has eight career WTA titles to her name.
“I had a little bit of nerves at the start and a little bit of rust, so I’m happy I kind of accepted that and tried to fight through it.”
“And after, I felt like it went smoother, I became a little bit more calm, and kind of was more able to focus on my tennis.”
