United Cup: USA star and world no.3 Coco Gauff produces strong opening performance to beat Leylah Fernandez

American women’s world no.3 Coco Gauff has picked up where she left off, starting her Australian summer of tennis with a comprehensive 6-3 6-2 win over Canada’s Leylah Fernandez at RAC Arena. But the top-seeded USA survived a scare against Canada, needing mixed doubles to avoid their tournament coming close to ending on the same day it began. A big crowd at RAC Arena were treated to a marathon tie between the two North American neighbours, with play finishing well past midnight. After Gauff had beaten Fernandez, US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz looked on course to seal victory for the USA in the singles, only to be undone by a superb comeback from world no.29 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Having already beaten Croatia in their first tie of the United Cup, Canada knew a win in the mixed doubles would have booked their spot in Wednesday’s quarter-finals and left the USA’s hopes of progression dangling by a thread. But Fritz and Gauff combined to outlast Auger-Aliassime and Fernandez 7-6 7-5 in the mixed doubles to secure the tie victory. The women’s tie was a meeting of two former US Open finalists, and the 2023 champion took down the 2021 runner-up in straight sets, as Gauff put on a show for a lively Perth crowd in her United Cup debut. It was the 20 year-old star’s first match since she won the end-of-year WTA Finals, and her 2024 form looks set to continue into the new season if Sunday night was anything to go by. Gauff won half her points off her opponents’ serve, and while Fernandez put up a fight as each set went for 48 and 49 minutes respectively, it only delayed the inevitable. The opening game of the match was a sign of things to come as it went to deuce, before Fernadez staved off a Gauff break point opportunity to hold serve. But it did not take long for Gauff to take control, breaking Fernandez in the third game before consolidating her lead. At 3-2 down, Fernandez had two break points, only for Gauff to win the next four points; as it turned out, it would be the last opportunity Fernandez had to steal a game off Gauff’s serve. Gauff broke Fernandez at 5-3 to claim the first set, before racing out to a 3-0 lead in the second. As the Canadian world no.31 found out, once you fall behind against Gauff, it is tough to wrest back momentum, but she gave it her best shot and made the American delve deep into her bag to execute some worthy winners. When Fernandez looked to be gaining the upper hand in rallies, Gauff’s defensive shots bought her enough time to shuffle her opponent’s feet and allowed her time to reset and begin to control the rallies again. At 5-2 down, Fernandez served to stay in the match, but Gauff brought up match point and sealed it with a well-placed lob, followed by a resultant smash, an exclamation point on a fine all-round performance. Fritz looked comfortable after he powered past Auger-Aliassime 6-4 in the first set, and looked on track for the second set when he broke Auger-Aliassime’s serve with a stupendous winner which left the Canadian stumped and 4-2. But Auger-Aliassime dug deep and fought his way back from 5-3 down to reel off four consecutive games and get the crowd on his side. And as Fritz’s grip on the match slipped, Auger-Aliassime’s strengthened, and he ran over the top of the world no.4 6-3 in the final set as a fervent crowd cheered his victory — the Canadian’s first over Fritz in three attempts.