Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina led his team to a 2-1 victory over Brazil on the first day of the United Cup mixed team event. This marked the beginning of the new tennis season following a brief break before the upcoming Australian Open next month. Davidovich Fokina and his mixed doubles partner Sara Sorribes Tormo secured their win by defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia and Marcelo Melo with a score of 6-4 7-5 in the Group A tie at the $10 million event. The tournament will also feature matches in Sydney and includes 18 countries.
Some of the big names like world number ones Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek are set to play in the coming days as they prepare for the first Grand Slam of the year. The Australian Open is scheduled to take place from Jan. 14-28 in Melbourne.
Davidovich Fokina, a United Cup debutant, started strong for Spain by defeating Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4 6-0 in the first match of the 2024 season. He dominated his opponent from the baseline and did not face a break point throughout the contest. However, Brazil fought back as world number 11 Haddad Maia defeated Sorribes Tormo with a score of 7-6(1) 6-2 in a rematch of their previous French Open fourth-round clash earlier this year. This set up the mixed doubles decider.
As the day’s events unfolded, hosts Australia were scheduled to play against Britain in the later match.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)
