GREAT Britain has moved a step closer to the knockout stages of the 2024 United Cup, having defeated Australia 2-1 in Perth overnight. After a hard-fought men’s singles match, Cameron Norrie just snuck home against Australian Alex de Minaur in a third set tiebreaker, before top ranked British woman Katie Boulter took care of her counterpart, Ajla Tomljanovic.

Norrie looked firmly in control against de Minaur for the early part, cruising to a 6-4 first set win and holding the Aussie at bay. Though the talented Brit knew he was never going to have it all on his terms, with de Minaur racing out of the blocks in the second set, commanding a lead and then levelling the match with a 6-2 second set.

It went down to the wire in the third, as both players who are known for their work rate and counter punching went head-to-head. Luckily for the visitors, Norrie was able to step up when it counted in the tiebreaker and win 7-2. The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak against Top 20 opponents, while de Minaur’s four-month drought against the same quality opponent continued.

““I really had to dig deep and play very brave in that third set,” Norrie said post-match. “He came out at the end of the second set he was firing. I had to dig deep and play to win and in that tie-break, I found good depth on my forehand.

“The balls got a little bit older and I really had to hit the ball. It is always tough playing Alex. He is a good friend of mine and we always have battles. I knew I would have to run a lot today and I did. It was a great atmosphere.”

If losing did not sting enough for de Minaur, he had to watch on as his girlfriend, Boulter went on to close out the tie for Great Britain, defeating Tomljanovic in straight sets. After losing her only previous meeting to the Australian back in 2022, she produced eight aces as part of 14 winners in a 6-2 6-4 triumph. The world number 56 proved too strong for the returning Aussie, refusing to be broken throughout the match.

Though ultimately a dead rubber for this tie, Australia did claim an all-important doubles win, just in case the Aussies can knock off top seeded team in the group, the United States in their final group match. Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter – ranked fourth and first in doubles respectively – proved too good for Boulter and her top five ranked partner in Neal Skupski, with the former getting up in a close second set tiebreaker, 6-3 7-5.

OTHER RESULTS

The only other tie taking place occurred earlier in the day, where the Spanish pairing of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Sara Sorribes Tormo claimed the deciding doubles to post a 2-1 victory over Brazil in Group A.

Davidovich Fokina and Sorribes Tormo were able to fight through Beatriz Haddad Maia and South American doubles specialist Marcelo Melo to win, 6-4 7-5 and ensure they have the advantage heading into the final match against top seeded nation, Poland.

Earlier in the day, Davidovich Fokina got Spain off to the best start, working his way through the tricky Thiago Seyboth Wild before cruising to a 6-4 6-0 win. Brazil did manage to get one back through top ranked singles player Haddad Maia as she overcame a stiff Sorribes Tormo early to post a 7-6 6-2 win and keep Brazil’s hopes of snagging a wildcard into the semi-finals alive.

TODAY’S ACTION

Sydney’s action kicks off shortly at Ken Rosewall Arena with Netherlands heavily backed against Norway in Group F. That morning tie starts at 10:30am AEDST, and will be followed into the night by Group D’s contest between Italy and Germany which promises to be a cracker.

In Perth, Czech Republic takes on China at 10am local time – 1pm AEDST – as part of Group E, while Brazil wraps up its group stage campaign needing to knock off Poland in order to avoid being the first nation to exit the tournament.