Sakkari and Tsitsipas hold off Spain to secure United Cup victory for Greece

When required to provide for Greece at the United Cup, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari rarely miss.

The 26-year-old Tsitsipas pulled double duty Saturday in Perth to seal a 2-1 victory for Spain in Group C action. In a nervy winner-takes-all mixed doubles rubber, it was the Greek duo who held their nerve, defeating Sergio Martos Gornes and Yvonne Cavalle Reimers 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 to knock Spain out of the tournament.

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"We came clutch when we had to; that tie-break was very good from our side," Sakkari said. "It's always amazing to play alongside Stefanos and create good moments on the court."

“There isn’t a single Greek night without some drama,” said Tsitsipas. “I’m super grateful that I have a fighter like Maria beside me. She never disappoints, she delivered until the end.”

Sakkari made amends for her earlier singles loss by finding her best tennis in the latter stages of the Match Tie-break. The 29-year-old stood firm, holding two serves from 7-6 against the oncoming Martos Gornes, striking a winner past the Spaniard to bring up three match points, which they converted at the first attempt.

Greece will aim to finish top of Group C when it faces Kazakhstan on Monday. 

No.54 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro opened the tie by defeating Sakkari 6-2, 6-1 to give Spain a 1-0 lead. Bouzas Maneiro, 22, bounced back from a straight-sets loss to World No.6 Elena Rybakina in her opener to ease past Sakkari in a 72-minute clinic.

In their first career meeting, Bouzas Maneiro dominated the baseline exchanges to earn the third tour-level Top 50 win of her career. She notched her first two last season, first by ousting defending champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round of Wimbledon, and then notching another Grand Slam stunner over Katie Boulter at the US Open. Her win over Sakkari improved her career record at the United Cup to 2-1. 

Sakkari entered the new season at No.32 on the PIF WTA Rankings after shutting down her 2024 campaign after the US Open due to a shoulder injury. Playing her first match since her first-round retirement in New York to Wang Yafan, Sakkari struggled to find the consistency needed to bother Bouzas Maneiro.

Maneiro broke Sakkari's serve in all but one service game, converting seven of 13 break points. Sakkari served at just 45 percent in the match and misfired on 29 unforced errors. Fittingly, Bouzas Maneiro broke Sakkari's serve to seal the match, firing a confident forehand winner to earn triple match point and converting on a backhand winner that clipped the line. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame Pablo Carreño Busta 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to level Greece’s Group C tie with Spain at 1-1. After experiencing a slight dip in form, which left him trailing a break in the deciding set, Tsitsipas recovered to keep his country alive.

“I’m happy that I found a way,” said Tsitsipas, who improved to 6-1 in United Cup singles.  “In a position where you are doubting your choices but somehow trying to find a way, that’s the moment that I am most proud of. I just hope to come out here and represent Greece in the best possible way.

“I did [finish strongly], I fought it through. In some situations I was struggling to get back into the match. Pablo played such good tennis in the third set, so I had to come up with something. Any player here is a top-tier player, so I am not expecting anything other than that.”

An error-strewn ninth game from Tsitsipas in the second set gifted the Carreno Busta his first break of serve, undoing all of the Greek’s efforts from the first set, in which he won 83 percent (15/18) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Needing a win to keep Greece in the tie, the former No.3 in the PIF ATP Rankings reignited some bruising tennis to bully his way past the Spaniard.