The United Cup has reached a stage where the quarter finalists start to emerge from the group stages and the first to do so from Perth are Kazakhstan and Germany with two wins apiece to top the table in their respective groupings.
Kazakhstan made light work of Greece demolishing them 3-0 in their clash between the two unbeaten nations in Group C while Germany had a tougher task against China, requiring the deciding doubles to defeat their main rival in Group E, 2-1.
For the Kazaks, Alexander Shevchenko produced a major upset when he dispatched Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-6(0) to give Team Kazakhstan a dream start in the crucial tie.
Elena Rybakina then found the strength and energy to emulate her male team mate to upset Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-3 and put the team in an unassailable position and eliminate Greece form the competition.
“I think he was not at his best today but still I played really well and I found the moments to win the match,” Shevchenko said. “It will definitely go in my record as one of my best wins.
“I was risking with my backhand down the line, and it worked out really well. I’ve been dreaming of playing this event… it’s unbelievable to be here playing on this court.”
Shevchenko, following a poor personal start to the competition, was a different player in the second tie but it must be said, Tsitsipas, was well below the standard expected of the world No.10.
The Greek No.1 was seen to be struggling physically and called for a medical time out in the second set and while he put up a late fightback to recover a break and force a tie break only to then fail to win a point.
Needless to say, Shevchenko, ranked at 78, was basically in full control throughout the encounter and it wasn’t until the latter stages that it turned into a bit of a contest.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
It was left to Rybakina to finally extinguish any Greek hopes of continuing in the competition and like Shevchenko, overcame a big ranking gap to inflict a defeat on Sakkari, her second in this year’s competition.
The Greek No.1 was certainly match rusty having suffered a shoulder injury last summer which sidelined her until she arrived in Perth but despite some positive periods, she couldn’t dent her opponent’s confidence to go down 6-4 6-3 after 83-minutes.
Zhibek Kulambayeva and Aleksandr Nedovyesov then made it a clean 3-0 sweep of the tie inside RAC Arena by rallying to defeat Despina Papamichail and Petros Tsitsipas 2-6 6-3 10-6. The Kazakhstani duo trailed 1-4 in the Match Tiebreak but came up with some aggressive tennis to inflict the whitewash, the fourth of the competition.
Having assured themselves of a place in the last eight, the Kazaks could sit down and assess their next opponents, which would be the winners between the evening tie between Germany and China, and they had to wait longer than expected before Germany, the defending champions, finally squeezed past the Chinese.
(Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)
And it was the Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund combination which finally secured their quarter final place as winners of Group E and extend the champion’s reign.
The pair clocked up a 6-2 7-6(3) victory – their fourth in succession as a partnership – over Zhang Zhizhen and Zhang Shuai in the deciding mixed doubles rubber sealing a 2-1 win.
Earlier Zverev had got the champions off to a great start by defeating Zhang Zhizhen 2-6 6-0 6-2 in the opening singles rubber, but Laura Siegemund was unable to quell the world No.175, Gao Xinyu’s aggressive play as she brought China back into contention with her 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory to level the tie at 1-1.
That win for China was crucial for it ensured that the team, despite their eventual defeat, also qualified for the quarter finals as one of the nations with the best record.
“Triple ZZZ is a very funny guy, we had a great singles and great mixed doubles match with Laura,” Zverev said after their win. “I’m happy that we’re in the quarter finals and, actually, I’m happy that China are in the quarter-finals too. Congratulations to the Chinese team.”
(Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)
“It was a really great match,” Siegemund added. “When you play for the first time after a while, you never really know what’s going to happen, and I think it was a great performance.”
Reflecting on his singles result, Zverev added: “I didn’t start off well… I was missing more shots from my backhand side, which is normally the most stable.
“He was also playing extremely well, so aggressive. He was not letting me into the match or find my rhythm.
“Then I pushed some balls back in the second set to get some rhythm from the baseline. Then I found my rhythm and I’m happy with my performance in the second and third sets.”
So Kazakhstan will face Germany in one quarter final, while China eventually take on the winners from Group A.
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