PERTH, Australia -- Petra Martic notched a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 defeat of Nadia Podoroska to give Croatia an unassailable lead over Argentina at the United Cup in Perth. The winner of Group F will be decided over the next two days in the third and final tie, as Croatia returns to take on France.
The ATP's Borna Gojo then defeated Federico Coria in a dead rubber to make it 4-0 for Croatia.
In Martic's only previous encounter with Podoroska, she had emerged a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 winner in the third round of Rome 2021. Once again, she was able to triumph in three sets, losing the tightest but running away with the other two.
This time, Podoroska roared out of the blocks. The former WTA No.36 dazzled in the opening three games, breaking Martic straight away with a perfect lob and coming up with crowd-pleasing volley and dropshot winners.
But Martic responded with aggression of her own, and Podoroska proved unable to sustain her high level. The Croat reeled off seven straight games, breaking for 4-2 as Podoroska served consecutive double faults and sealing the set with an exquisitely weighted dropshot of her own.
Both players settled into a groove on serve in the second set. The first eight games saw just one break point between them, quickly snuffed out by Podoroska with a service winner. At 4-4, though, Martic blinked first. A dip in energy and execution saw her quickly lose the last two games of the set with a series of cheap errors, then go down a break at the start of the second set.
Encouraged by captain Iva Majoli and coach Michael Geserer, Martic gathered herself to reprise the arc of the first set. Having backed off her aggressive tactics, she upped the ante on serve and resumed her net-rushing approach in the decider, and was rewarded with another six-game streak to seal victory.
"Definitely a tough match, it's not easy to start a new season," Martic said. "She made it really difficult for me out there, especially in the second set. She was really sharp and used the chance to break me. But I'm really happy with how I raised my level in the third, and how I closed it out."
Gojo followed Martic onto court inside RAC Arena and successfully maintained Team Croatia’s unbeaten start to the United Cup.
A strong serving performance was key to the 24-year-old’s 98-minute victory in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Coria. Gojo won 79 percent of points behind his first delivery and did not face a break point en route to just his eighth tour-level win.
Gojo returned to court immediately alongside team mate Tara Wurth for the final match of the tie in mixed doubles. The pair proceeded to complete a clean 5-0 sweep in the tie for Team Croatia by rallying to a 1-6, 6-4, 10-4 victory against Argentine combination Podoroska and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
