The Weekly Recap: Pro Tennis Around The Globe

What happened in pro tennis around the globe in the past week? Plenty. We can't cover it all here but a few key highlights follow below in order to catch you up on all the action...   

USA Wins United Cup for the Second Time

Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz returned victorious once again to the first tournament of the year---the United Cup. And just like 2023, they made raising the cup seem very simple and cruised through the week without losing a face-off against another country, and in the process they picked up some powerful wins. In the group stage against Canada and Croatia, the team won 5/6 matches they played against the two opponents, securing a comfortable quarter-final berth. From there, they defeated China 3-0 in matches, and then another 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic to secure their place in the final---and the team standing on the other side of the net would be the hardest to conquer yet: Poland.

Photo credit: Peter Staples / ATP Tour

Taylor Fritz took on Hubert Hurkacz in an excruciatingly tight battle, with both players fighting right up until the end with the match closing in an uncomfortable final tiebreak. The American won the first set 6-4, but Hurkacz was able to claw himself back in the next avoiding a tiebreak and breaking Fritz at the right moment to take it 7-5. Neither player seemed to lose much steam in the final set, and both served beautifully giving little opportunities to the opponent. Because of this, the fans packed in Ken Rosewall Arena found themselves about to witness a decider tie, and Fritz was able to raise his game just enough to scrape through 7-4 and put USA up one point. But the battle wasn't over yet. 

Photo credit: Peter Staples / ATP Tour

Next, Coco Gauff took to the court against Iga Swiatek, and there was no telling which way this match was going to swing. While Swiatek has maintained a strong 11-2 head to head against the American, Gauff won their last battle at the WTA Finals just a few months earlier. And it seemed as though the 20-year-old had figured out the secret solution to conquer her rival, and she executed that plan perfectly winning relatively comfortably 6-4, 6-4. This meant that the battle did not need to be taken to a doubles decider, and the USA had secured their second victory at the tournament. 

Brisbane Ends With Interesting Results

The annual Brisbane International had some interesting stories to tell this year, especially on the men's side. With an energetic doubles duo, to a surprise upset, and a shock retirement---this edition was full of drama. But before we get to all that, we first look at the women's side where the current #1 claimed her first title of the season. Aryna Sabalenka had a pretty easy time and soared through the week, with only one close match in the second round against Yulia Putintseva. That was until she reached the final against unseeded Polina Kudermetova, and boy did she have to fight for the trophy. The younger sister of top-20 player Veronica Kudermetova won the first set 6-4, and served up several aces on the way. It seemed as though the tennis world had to brace for another upset, but the more experienced Sabalenka was able to handle the moment and claimed the next set 6-3. After that, Kudermetova had little steam left in the tank and Sabalenka was able to improve her serve and easily win the final set 6-2. If that's an omen for what's to come this year, then Sabalenka will look to win the Australian Open for a third consecutive time and fully cement her #1 status. 

Photo credit: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile, the week on the men's side started out interesting with all eyes and ears on the fun team of Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic that won their first doubles match in a 10-8 final set tiebreaker before losing to the #1 seeds in the second round. Djokovic then focused on singles, but found himself the victim of a crushing upset when unseeded and recent hip-surgery patient Reilly Opelka hit huge serves and swung his way past the 22-time grand slam champion. Opelka was able to reach the final against Jiri Lehecka, who had a good week in Brisbane and served up big wins against Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov to seal his place in the final. But Opelka, clearly still suffering setbacks from his injury, had to retire in the first set as the Czech led 4-1. This was his second title after winning a similar tournament in Adelaide just one year prior. 

Alexandre Muller wins in Hong Kong, Nishikori Moves Back to Top 100

Over in Hong Kong there were some interesting results and a handful of upsets, but the eventual champion Frenchman Alexandre Muller is fully deserving of his first ATP title by the way he's played this week. In an earlier round, he defeated 4th seeded Arthur Fils in three tight sets, putting him on the radar for someone to watch. And he backed that up with another difficult battle in the quarter-finals. The final wasn't going to get any easier against unseeded Kei Nishikori, who took the first set 6-2. But like previous matches, Muller was a master at producing a great comeback and did just that as he won the following sets 6-1, 6-3. Overall, Muller's serve was exceptional strong coming it at 79% first serve in compared to Nishikori's 65%, and 74% won compared to Nishikori's 57%.

Photo credit: JC, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Though Nishikori lost, this is a big milestone for him as he looks to return to the top of professional tennis after having a few relatively quiet years, and this boosted him to #74. If he can produce a good result at the Australian Open, Nishikori could well be a feared foe going into the spring season. 

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Written by Will Turvey. Top photo: Peter Staples / ATP Tour.