SYDNEY/WASHINGTON, January 6, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Canada arrived for its second United Cup tie in Sydney Tuesday afternoon needing to win just one rubber out of three in order to win its group and advance to the quarterfinal stage. Its opponent, Belgium, which lost 2-1 to China in an earlier tie, needed to sweep Canada in order to claim the Group B first-place prize.
Guess what? Belgium waffled Canada – swept the Canadians 3-0 – and reached the last eight behind the combined efforts of Zizou Bergs and Elise Mertens. Each performed admirably. Both Bergs and Mertens won their respective singles rubbers, then combined their talents in mixed doubles to prevail on Ken Rosewall Arena.
The point that sent Belgium into the Quarterfinals pic.twitter.com/iCypmR0pJo
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2026
The Canadians, despite finishing 1-1 in group play, were eliminated from advancing because Czechia (also 1-1) had the best match record (4-2) among second-place teams in the groups playing in Sydney, ahead of Canada and Germany (both 3-3).
First, the 42nd-ranked Bergs garnered the biggest win of his career with his defeat of World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 28 minutes. He saved all five break points he faced, converted three of 10 break-point chances, won 76 percent of his service points and took advantage of 21 unforced errors by Auger-Aliassime. Bergs outpointed his opponent 66-46 and outmuscled him, too.
Just 1-10 lifetime against Top-10 opponents before Tuesday, the 26-year-old Bergs became the first Belgian man to win a United Cup match – and it came in his fourth attempt going back to 2023.
View this post on Instagram
“Really happy with the performance. I think this shows also our strength we have,” Bergs said during his on-court interview after winning his first match of the new season after losing a tough three-setter to China’s Zhang Zhizhen on Saturday. “We can fall down, but we will get back up and try to be better [than] we were the day before.”
Belgium came into its tie with Canada 0-1 after dropping a 2-1 decision to China on Saturday.
“This is what we do, and I’m also very thankful to have that team around me,” Bergs added.
Then, in the second rubber, the 19th-ranked Mertens ended World No. 18 Victoria Mboko‘s six-match winning streak that began by her winning her second career WTA Tour title in Hong Kong and continued at the United Cup with an earlier win against China’s Zhu Lin. Mertens, 30, denied Mboko a third Top-20 win when she defeated the 19-year-old Canadian, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in two hours and five minutes. Mertens dropped just three points on her first serve and won 50 percent of the points offered on Mboko’s second serve. She outpointed her opponent 96-76.
View this post on Instagram
Finally, with the pressure of winning the tie eased but still needing a 3-0 sweep to win Group B and advance to the quarterfinals, Bergs and Mertens teamed to beat Mboko and Cleeve Harper, a replacement for Auger-Aliassime, 6-3, 3-6, 10-5, in an hour and 25 minutes.
“We had to beat some big players today and a big tennis country,” Bergs said. “We small Belgians, we are so proud of each other today what we did as a team, especially after a rough first encounter with China. So we are happy and the group is very happy.”
View this post on Instagram
During Belgium’s post-tie news conference, Mertens was asked about her mindset before facing Mboko. “I think the most important thing is how I step on court,” she said. “We had that 1-Love thanks to Zizou. That also gave me a little bit of freedom. I know we had to win this tie with a 3-Love. I think you still focus on your own game, what you can do. You give yourself 100 percent, which we did. The team behind me gave me a lot of energy.”
Finally, Bergs put things into perspective at the end of a very successful afternoon for Belgium. “Playing for my country is very important for me. It helped me a lot in the past to become a better tennis player,” he said. “If you look at this event, it helped me again today playing these mixed doubles, getting experience for doubles, but also taking responsibility whenever it matters to win your matches.
“It’s just a very important event for me in general. If I can play for my country, for some reason it always helps me to be a better tennis player.
“For me until now it’s never been any doubt to play or not to play because I still have to give a lot back to my country. If I got a chance, I will for sure take it.”
View this post on Instagram
Australia 2, Czechia 1
With the weight of his country riding on his shoulders, Australia’s Alex de Minaur rose to the occasion and lifted his green-and-gold-clad team to a 2-1 victory over Czechia to win first place in Group D.
The World No. 7 de Minaur pulled double duty – first beating World No. 18 Jakub Mensik, 6-4, 6-1, in 91 minutes the men’s singles rubbers, then teaming with Storm Hunter to win the mixed doubles rubber. De Minaur and Hunter defeated Czechia’s Miriam Skoch and Dalibor Svrcina, 6-2, 6-3.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
De Minaur keeps Australia’s hopes alive, taking down Mensik 6-4 6-1 pic.twitter.com/oG8GvRvlHA
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2026
Earlier, 63rd-ranked Barbora Krejcikova put Czechia ahead 1-0 in the tie after defeating Australian No. 1 Maya Joint, 6-4, 6-1, to secure her team’s berth in the quarterfinals by finishing with the best second-place record in Sydney. Krejcikova has won both of her singles rubbers since arriving in Sydney after missing the first five months of last season with injuries.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” said Krejcikova, who also played mixed doubles in Czechia’s earlier tie victory against Norway. “I’m happy with the way I played from beginning to end. I had great support as well. It was a little up and down in the first set, but I’m happy to come through. I was trying to be aggressive from the start, and it’s nice to have some matches under my belt. I felt a little better on the court today.”
Let’s gooooo! @BKrejcikova with the win over Joint pic.twitter.com/krNmxKl40C
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2026
After Australia clinched the tie triumph, Hunter was all smiles as she and de Minaur stood for their on-court interview.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable. Saturday night was incredible and tonight you delivered again,” Hunter said. “Demon brings energy, he’s so clutch under pressure. So I felt really comfortable and confident with him by my side.”
“I didn’t start the year the way I wanted to,” said de Minaur, who is 1-1 in singles after losing to World No. 12 Casper Ruud of Norway before rebounding to beat Mensik. “But something I’ve done really well in my career is bouncing back, so I’m happy I bounced back today.”
Home team moving through
De Minaur & Hunter defeat Skoch/Svrcina for Australia to move through to the #UnitedCup quarter-finals! pic.twitter.com/ts6BVeBBw5
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 6, 2026
Asked what pleased him the most, Australia’s team captain Lleyton Hewitt said: “Oh, just the effort from the whole team. Coming out here, we knew we probably couldn’t finish the highest second-place team, so we had to win tonight. We had to somehow win two points. We were able to do that.
“It’s been a really good camaraderie with the whole team and the whole squad and everyone. It’s been a lot of fun this week.”
Italy 2, France 1
Italy came into its tie with France on RAC Arena in Perth needing a clean sweep in order to reach the quarterfinals with the best second-place finish among teams competing in the Western Australian capital city. It didn’t happen and, thus, Argentina (1-1) finished the best runner-up based on its match record (4-2 compared to Italy’s 3-3) and will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals Wednesday evening. The United States will play Greece in the other quarterfinal tie during the day session.
In the opening rubber, France’s Arthur Rinderknech saved a pair of match points – on his serve at 5-6 in the second set – and went on to stun World No. 22 Flavio Cobolli, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-5, in three hours and 21 minutes – the longest match of the day. The 27th-ranked Frenchman, who rallied from a break down in the final set, hit 13 aces and won 75 percent of his first-serve points. Although Rinderknech was broken four times in 11 tries by Cobolli, he converted five of 13 break-point opportunities against the Italian and outpointed him 126-120.
Never gave up in a three hour thriller. pic.twitter.com/lnC3sOxvPR
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2026
“I don’t know if it was seriously good, but it was seriously tough, that’s for sure,” said Rinderknech, who enters the 2026 season with a career-high ranking and is the top-ranked French men’s player. “He’s powerful and he made me play a lot of balls. I was able to find a way somehow like Stan [Wawrinka] found a way against me three days ago. Both matches [went deep] in the third, so I guess it’s good preparation for the Australian Open.”
With both Italy and France eliminated, the final two rubbers were a matter of pride and the Italians won both. First, World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini defeated 102nd-ranked Leolia Jeanjean, 6-2, 6-3, in an hour and 22 minutes. Then, three-time major champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori beat Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajao and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6).
“We couldn’t get through the group, but we did our best,” Paolini said after her match, quoted by the United Cup website. “We fought until the last ball and there’s still mixed doubles, so we’re going to be there to cheer for them. Sometimes it’s sport, but we have to keep going, [keep] fighting, because that’s the right way to finish this competition.”
Too good
Jasmine Paolini finishes her United Cup Singles campaign with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Leolia Jeanjean. pic.twitter.com/sTrYiFzfB2— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2026
Around the United Cup
The final group tie, between Poland (1-0) and the Netherlands (0-1), will take place at 10:30 a.m. AEST (12:30 a.m. CET) Wednesday on Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney on Wednesday. First place in Group F will be decided by the outcome of tie.
In Perth, the quarterfinals begin with defending champion United States versus Greece at 10 a.m. AWST (3 a.m. CET) followed by Switzerland versus Argentina not before 5 p.m. AWST (10 a.m. CET). The two quarterfinal winners will advance Saturday’s semifinal round in Sydney.
View this post on Instagram
Wednesday’s United Cup schedule
By the numbers
Australia’s Alex de Minaur improved to 7-3 at the United Cup in singles with his victory over Jakub Mensik Tuesday evening. Among his United Cup victories are wins over No. 1 Novak Djokovic in 2024 and No. 2 Rafael Nadal in 2023. The World No. 7 de Minaur led the ATP Tour in hard-court wins last season with 43. With his win against Mensik, de Minaur has recorded wins in 10 consecutive seasons on the ATP Tour (since 2017).
“Quotable …”
“Yeah, I started hitting two weeks ago, so it’s been a good two and a bit months where I didn’t play. I did fitness. It’s been difficult to kind of increase the load and add the unpredictability of the tennis. I think today, being able to produce that, having not played, is just giving me confidence to what I can do when I do practice more. I know now I just need to get my head down, keep working.
“It’s also first match of the season. It’s been a long break for everyone. I think after my last match in Ningbo, it’s been a good three months. Initially you feel a little bit alien on the court, in the first set, just playing points again.
“I just need to try and recover as best as I can, just keep working.”
– Emma Raducanu of Great Britain, during her team’s post-match news conference early Tuesday, after losing her first match of the 2026 season. Raducanu missed playing in her team’s first tie against Japan on Sunday while recovering from a lingering foot problem.
