United Cup: Newly engaged Sakkari and Tsitsipas lead Greece to opening win over Japan

Both Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas had a challenging 2025 to say the least but both are on the march at the United Cup defeating Japan for Greece in the opening tie in the group stages.

Maria Sakkari claimed a commanding straight sets win over Naomi Osaka to begin proceedings. She won through 6-4, 6-2 against Osaka who supposedly is sick so wasn't at her full best but the former World No.3 will take solace from the win. She is freshly engaged and after struggling for wins throughout 2025 has opened 2026 in the best way.

In addition this also helps given that they went out in the round robin last year when Tsitsipas and Sakkari also led the side and had long been touted together as a duo to watch for the title potentially but limped out of proceedings. Something that perhaps summed up their season.

In seeing off Osaka, she struck first in the opener racing into a 2-0 lead with a hold and an early break in Osaka's opening service game. Osaka broke back immediately but Sakkari claimed the advantage again to close out the set. She hit a superb backhand winner to set up a third set point which she converted.

From there she opened with two holds before Sakkari erased two break points to go 2-1 up. She broke Osaka again to move in front 3-1 maintaining control from there sealing a third win in six meetings and even their Head-to-Head giving them a 1-0 lead.

"You're always very hesitant when you come in that first match because sometimes you can trick yourself that you had a good preseason, and then you have high expectations to come out and do everything," Sakkari said to reporters after the match.

"I really forced myself not to think like that. I think that that was the key. Just went out there, tried to do the things that I worked on and, you know, we keep building and we can keep trying to improve."

"[There were] a lot of backhand winners, but a lot of backhand errors as well," Sakkari said. "I have to allow myself to miss in order for me to make a lot of winners. It was all about who was going to take the back hand line, let's be honest. It was all about who was going to get that good cross-court ball in order to get down the line."

From there it was onto Tsitsipas who playing Shintaro Mochizuki who is a lot further down on the pecking order of course than Osaka when it comes to Japanese tennis.

Tsitsipas of course still needed to get over the line but was perhaps a tad bit easier. Tsitsipas though hasn't won since September but asserted his return with a 6-3, 6-4 win. He recovered from an early break to take control and deliver a composed display to seal the win.

After coaching changes, injuries etc it has not been the easiest few months for Tsitsipas even underlined by his issues with the law amid his father supposedly speeding and he copped the ban and fine for it but he spoke this week that after being on the verge of retirement he feels good in his skin again and that showed as he struck well and purposefully against Mochizuki.

“It’s been a rough few months for me,” Tsitsipas said. “I was in a lot of uncertainty and I was not sure if I could really compete, so to see myself at that level again and showing some really good tennis is something I’m grateful for. Let’s keep it going.”