Coco Gauff leads USA into United Cup semi finals after epic mixed doubles clash with Greece
Coco Gauff has helped lead the USA to the semi finals at the United Cup - but it wasn't all smooth sailing for the defending champions in Perth.
In the women's singles clash, Gauff made rather light work of Sakkari with a straight sets 6-3, 6-4 victory that set up the USA nicely.
The world No.4 was at her classy best against a tough opponent in Sakkari, setting up a nice early buffer for the American team at RAC Arena.
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However, her male counterpart Taylor Fritz couldn't replicate that result and give them an unassailable lead as Stefano Tsitsipas sent things to a mixed doubles decider.
Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates the win over Taylor Fritz. Getty
Tsitsipas caused the 6-4, 7-5 upset over Fritz in less than an hour-and-a-half at RAC Arena and was on the immediate back-up for the doubles alongside Sakkari.
Greece took out the first set in promising fashion, but Gauff - along with her teammate Christian Harrison - rallied back to take out the second to set.
The Aussie tennis summer kicks off with the 2026 United Cup from Friday, January 2. Watch it live and free on Nine and 9Now.
The reigning champs raced ahead to a dominant 5-1 lead in the 10-point tiebreak, but a spirited fightback from Tsitsipas and Sakkari set up a grandstand finish at 6-6.
USA moved to 9-6 and held three match points, but Greece dug deep and saved two of them before ultimately, Gauff and Harrison got the job done.
Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison. Getty
The result sends the Americans into the final-four of the tournament and they will be back in action on Saturday night after heading across the country to Sydney.
In the other fixtures on Wednesday afternoon, Poland completed a clean sweep against the Netherlands as they look to make their mark on the tournament.
Poland - led by Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz - will now face Australia on Friday night for a spot in the United Cup semi finals.
