Defending champions Germany kicked off its 2025 United Cup campaign with wins by Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev, earning a 3-0 victory over Brazil on Sunday.

In the opening match, Siegemund outlasted Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 to take a 1-0 lead in their Group E tie at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

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World No.80 Siegemund pulled off the topsy-turvy victory in 2 hours and 33 minutes, in Germany’s first match of the event. It was an upset on paper, but Siegemund has had 17th-ranked Haddad Maia’s number in the past, and the German now leads their head-to-head 4-1 overall.

Currently the top-ranked German woman in both singles and doubles, the former Top 30 singles player Siegemund notched the 20th Top 20 win of her career by toppling Haddad Maia. 

"It’s the first match of the year against such a great player, it’s not easy," Siegemund said on court after her win. "So I have to, out of the pocket, pull my best game basically, and I just tried to focus on that and stay cool in the [big] moments."

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After falling behind an early break at 3-1 in the opening set, the crafty veteran Siegemund used her bevy of passing shots and winning volleys to reel off five consecutive games and steal the one-set lead.

Haddad Maia swept through the second set, but deft, well-placed returns helped Siegemund stay on the front foot in the third set. Coming out on top in all-court rallies with lobs and drop shots, Siegemund earned the decisive break for 5-4, then served out the match at love.

"The match, today, it wasn't perfect," Siegemund said. "For nobody it is, at the beginning of the year. But I tried to stay in it, I tried to stay positive, and hopefully that's giving me some confidence for the next matches."

In the following match, Zverev produced a sharp opening performance to steer Germany to victory. World No.2 Zverev claimed immediate breaks in both sets to defeat Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 6-4 in just 1 hour and 17 minutes, in contrast to Siegemund's grueling three-set win. 

The 23-time ATP Tour title winner served 11 aces and dropped just three points on his first serve (29/32).

Zverev played a maximum 10 matches at last year's United Cup as he carried the Germans to the title, but hinted before this year's event that he may defer doubles duty to recent Nitto ATP Finals doubles champion Tim Puetz.

Germany completed a 3-0 sweep of the tie when Siegemund teamed with Puetz to defeat Rafael Matos and Carolina Alves 7-6(8), 6-4 in the mixed doubles rubber.

The Germans won four of five ties en route to last year’s title, ultimately beating Poland in the final.