Tennis stars Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, and Taylor Fritz delivered standout performances on Tuesday, propelling the United States and Italy into the quarter-finals of the United Cup, MySportDab Reports.
World number three Gauff avenged her Paris Olympics loss to Donna Vekic, defeating the Croatian 6-4, 6-2 to seal a decisive victory for the USA.
Earlier, Taylor Fritz, ranked fourth in the world, set the tone with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over Borna Coric in scorching Perth heat. The defending champions now face China in the last eight.
Fritz adapted well to Coric’s tactics, explaining, “At the start, it was tough to hurt him from the baseline, but I focused on making fewer mistakes, which made the difference.”
Gauff, who dominated Vekic by winning eight of the last 11 games, was thrilled with her performance. “That defeat at the Olympics really motivated me to improve. I’m happy with how I competed today. We’re through to the quarter-finals – let’s go,” she said.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini maintained her superb form with a 6-0, 6-2 demolition of France’s Chloe Paquet in Sydney.
Paolini, coming off a remarkable 2024 season with Grand Slam runner-up finishes at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as well as a doubles gold at the Paris Olympics, continues to impress.
Her teammate Flavio Cobolli delivered an upset, rallying from a set down to defeat France’s world number 14 Ugo Humbert 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-2. Cobolli saved a match point in the second set before overpowering Humbert in the third.
With these performances, both nations look strong contenders as they head into the knockout stages of the mixed-team competition.
