United Cup 2025: Coco Gauff downs Iga Swiatek to give Team USA early lead in blockbuster clash

Sunday, 05 January 2025 at 09:46

Coco Gauff has given Team USA an early lead at the 2025 United Cup after defeating Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 in the final on Sunday. In a blockbuster showdown between the pair, it was as high quality as expected as Gauff repeated her feat from Riyadh of taking down the former World No.1.

Gauff has previously struggled against Swiatek with the Pole winning 11 out of her past 13 matches against her with that record up until last year being flawless. But Gauff since adding Matt Daly to her team has made incredible improvements. In particular in problem areas in her serve and forehand.

They were trading power blows from the very start but it was Gauff who broke first with a forehand volley to lead 2-0 before Swiatek reeled off three straight games to lead 3-2. But the consistency of the American told as she won the next four of five games to seal the opening set.

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Gauff from there eased through the second set. Despite double faulting on break point, she pulled it back and levelled at 4-4 before sealing the win with one more break. A sublime display from the American.

"I have the belief that I'm one of the best players in the world and when I play good tennis I'm hard to beat," Gauff said. "Today I think I played some great tennis. I'm glad I was able to get a point for Team USA. It was tough today, I'm not gonna lie."

Now attention turns to Taylor Fritz. He faces Hubert Hurkacz shortly aiming to grab the spotlight and seal the title for Team USA but Gauff has certainly put them in the best position possible to start the tie off superbly.

Probably her biggest win over Swiatek too in the context of heading towards sealing the title and exactly what Gauff has brought to the team on her debut over the last week.

COCO. CAN. DO 💥

The moment @CocoGauff defeted Iga Swiatek to stake Team 🇺🇸 to a 1-0 lead over 🇵🇱 #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/sPv1csAeeQ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 5, 2025

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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