PERTH/WASHINGTON, January 9, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Defending United Cup champion Team USA has arrived in Sydney for its last four showdown with Poland Saturday evening, in what will be a rematch of the 2025 United Final that was won by the Americans 2-0. The United States will be in search of its third title in the four-year history of the mixed-team event after eking out a nail-biting 2-1 victory over Greece on Wednesday in Perth.
As the quarterfinal tie came down to a match tie-break in the deciding mixed doubles rubber at RAC Arena, a defining element on display was the abundance of team effort shown by the Americans.
On court, it was the U.S. duo of Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison, who were playing the points. On the sidelines, team captain Michael Russell and World No. 9 Taylor Fritz led the charge providing words of wisdom and encouragement. Other teammates such as Mackenzie McDonald, Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Varvara Lepchenko were in the mix, too.
By the end of the rubber, which Gauff and Harrison came from behind to win over Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8, the emotions of the Team USA spilled out.
“I think it was a team effort, especially in the tiebreaker,” Gauff said during her team’s post-tie news conference after the Greece victory. “I never thought I would get doubles advice from Taylor, but it was actually successful. I appreciate it.”
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Although Gauff and Harrison had built up a 5-0 lead at the start of the match tie-break, soon Greece went on a tear and Sakkari and Tsitsipas leveled the score at 6-all. However the Americans went on to win four of the last six points of the rubber to pull out the tiebreaker 10-8.
“I think in those moments it’s important because literally in tiebreaks every point matters, more so than maybe in a three-set format,” Gauff said. “Yeah, it definitely came down to the wire. So, yeah, I appreciate the whole team talking to us, pumping us up, and seeing things that maybe we couldn’t see on the court.”
Harrison added: “It means a lot. Nice to have the team around. They really helped us through, especially me, I feel like in that match.”
As Russell explained, “They fought exceptionally hard like they do. The support from the whole team was amazing. It literally came down to one point, and that’s what we did the last three matches.
“Everyone gets behind one another, and I’m really proud how everyone played.
“You know, at the end of the day, we’re going to Sydney.”
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During the group stage in Perth, Team USA defeated Argentina and Spain by identical 2-1 scores. Both World No. 4 Gauff and Fritz went 1-1 in singles, and she and Harrison were 2-0 in mixed doubles. Then, against Greece, Gauff scored a solid straight-set victory over Sakkari, while Fritz lost 6-4, 7-5 to Tsitsipas. It came down to Gauff and Harrison – once again – and they maintained their hot hand playing together.
Harrison, for one, said he and Gauff benefited from some strategy adjustments. “Like Mike said, ‘we’re all there.’ … Everybody was speaking up. We were just ready to try to execute as good as we could. It’s nice to come through.”
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Earlier, Gauff recovered from one of her worst singles matches in recent memory, when she was upset by Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-0, to beat Sakkari, 6-3, 6-2. It was the sixth time in 11 meetings that Gauff had defeated the Greek star. She credited her improved service performance with a change in her mentality. Against Bouzas Maneiro, Gauff committed 14 double faults. She reduced that number to only six against Sakkari.
“I think just going for bigger targets, making [Maria] play knowing that I off the ground can hang in there or beat almost everyone. So, just adjusting,” Gauff said.
“It was difficult like with the first match with the sun on the other side. I don’t think I made the right adjustments, and it was negative. Today, it was the opposite.
“Yeah, I think just being positive and the mentality is everything when it comes to that.”
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Despite going 1-2 in his first three singles matches, Fritz is a fan of the United Cup and its mixed-team format. “For me personally, I always love the team events. I like the fact that – obviously as well – I think it’s good because we’re all coming off an offseason,” he said. “Showing up here, you’re guaranteed to get the two matches. If I’m playing somewhere else, I show up and lose that first match, I don’t get a chance to play again. Now, I get to play another one.
“So, it’s really good to start the year, but I mean, typically I am in favor of a lot of the team events. I think it’s a lot of fun.”
Gauff agreed with Fritz that playing United Cup is a great way to start a new season. “I think the appeal is, for example, instead of leaving Perth on a bad note in that singles, I could play better today.
“Obviously, the team format, I think, does create that pressure. Not only in singles, but in mixed. At the start of that tiebreaker, I did feel the nerves for the first time this whole event. I think it’s just feeling the nerves over and over again, and you learn how to, I guess, manage them.
“Yeah, hopefully, I can be in a later stage of a Grand Slam and maybe feel those same nerves. I think, thanks to the experience today, I’ll know how to manage them even better.”
For Gauff and the rest of her American teammates, the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne is a little more than a week away. For now, though, there’s unfinished business to take care of in Sydney, like winning another United Cup trophy.
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