SYDNEY: Switzerland defeated France 2-1 in the United Cup mixed team tournament on Saturday, driven by former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, who dazzled on her comeback to the top circuit following her maternity leave.
In her first WTA Tour level match after giving birth to her daughter Bella in April, the 27-year-old defeated Chloe Paquet 6-3, 6-1. Later, she and Dominic Stricker defeated Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Elixane Lechemia 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
Bencic, who has a protected ranking and will play in the Australian Open from January 12–26, claimed she was performing better than she had anticipated.
The entire comeback process proceeded far more quickly than I had imagined. Bencic, who made his comeback to competition in October and participated in the Billie Jean King Cup in addition to lower-level competitions, said, “It’s fantastic.”
“I didn’t move quickly. I started over with extreme caution. The last thing I wanted to do was rush my comeback. All I wanted to do was see how it unfolded each day. I believe I was prepared. Further practice is pointless. Isn’t it dull? Playing competitive matches is preferable.
In the Group ‘D’ match, Ugo Humbert had earlier tied the score at 1-1 with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Stricker, rallying from a 2-5 deficit in the second set to triumph and force a mixed doubles rubber at the Ken Rosewall Arena.
Nadia Podoroska defeated Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-4 in the evening session, and Maria Lourdes Carle and Tomas Martin Etcheverry defeated Ellen Perez and Matt Ebden 6-2, 6-4. Argentina defeated Australia 2-1 in Group “F.”
Before a boisterous home audience, Alex De Minaur had dominated Etcheverry 6-1, 6-4 to make it 1-1.
Canada defeated Croatia 2-1 in Perth’s RAC Arena to win Group “A” of the competition, which consists of 18 nations.
Leylah Fernandez, a former US Open runner-up, defeated Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3, and Felix Auger-Aliassime lost badly to Borna Coric 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Then, to seal the match, Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime defeated Lucija Ciric Bagaric and Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-4.
Before Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to put Greece on the board in a Group C match, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro gave Spain a strong start by defeating Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-1.
To end the match, Sakkari and Tsitsipas defeated Sergio Martos Gornes and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.
