United Cup: Coco Gauff inspires USA to hold off resurgent Greece as they book spot in semi-finals

Reigning champions USA's quest to go back-to-back is still firmly on the cards after a hard fought 2-1 win over Greece in the 2026 United Cup, with Coco Gauff producing the goods when needed.

We are coming into the business end of the tournament now, with second chances becoming less regular in this knockout format. Mistakes will be punished more brutally, with Greece finding that out after being unable to topple the USA in what was a tie decided by a tense mixed doubles match right at the end.

After a very poor performance in her last match against Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, she solved her problems to pick up a comfortable win over Maria Sakkari, triumphing 6-3, 6-2.

The signs were there from the early stages that the world number four was looking back to her best. She raced into a 5-0 lead before failing to clinch the set, which allowed Sakkari to mount a fightback. She was able to get three games before Gauff got the job done which gave her an imperious advantage.

This was extended with a break in the second set early on, followed by a second one to move her within striking distance. The two-time Grand Slam champion wasted no time in wrapping up the match, with the USA in the driving seat.

“Definitely a much better match today,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “Last match, I just tried to erase it. That’s the beauty of this tournament, and having a team like Taylor [Fritz] and Christian [Harrison] that gave me the chance to stay in the tournament and be able to prove myself better today. So definitely happy to give my team the lead today.”

It has been an inconsistent United Cup for Taylor Fritz, with an injury issue not helping his case. After he picked up a hugely crucial win to see his nation get out of the group, he was defeated 6-4, 7-5 against Stefanos Tsitsipas as he drew the tie level.

It was relatively straightforward in the early stages before a break to love saw the two-time Grand Slam finalist sneak ahead. He took his second set point to put Fritz under the cosh. He would be the one on a receiving end of a break opportunity, but snuffed it out as Tsitsipas later survived a solitary set point from his opponent as he broke the serve to move him within touching distance. He made no error, getting his first top 10 win in 18 months.

"I was fighting for the team and it was such a great match from my end," Tsitsipas exclaimed. "It's pretty straight forward when you are 0-1 down; I was aware of the level I needed to bring onto the court today. I felt I owed it to my team. Before I went to bed last night I was already visualising how the match was going to go. I was already playing it in my mind and I'm so happy to win exactly the way I planned. I was especially pleased with my serve and how I dealt with the pressure moments with a clear head."

The contest would all come down to a mixed doubles clash, with the winners heading into the semi-finals. The USA outfit of Gauff and Christian Harrison proved just about good enough to come out on top over Tsitsipas and Sakkari 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

Despite the Americans taking the advantage, four games on the spin for Greece put them in control. A break back from Gauff and Harrison put it back on serve but that was instantly undone when the Greek pair completed the first set.

After trading blows early on, Gauff and Harrison managed to put themselves ahead with a break, serving out to force a tense and nervy tiebreaker. It looked like the Americans had found another gear, going 5-0 ahead. Despite this, they would go on to lose six of the next seven points to level it up at 6-6. Gauff and Harrison fought back, going 9-6 up and creating three match point opportunities if needed. All of them would be needed, with the third one getting the job done for the USA.

They will now make the trip to Sydney from Perth to either face the hosts Australia or Poland in a repeat of last year's final.