Netherlands defeat Norway in Sydney; Rus wins singles opener

2m read 30 Dec 2023 1y ago
Arantxa Rus, 2024 United Cup (Getty)

Dutch doubles did the trick on Saturday for the Netherlands, which battled past Norway 2-1 in the first Sydney tie of the 2024 United Cup.

Arantxa Rus got the Netherlands off to a winning start in Sydney with a 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Malene Helgø to give her team a 1-0 lead in the first Group F tie of the United Cup. 

After Casper Ruud leveled for his country with a convincing singles win against Tallon Griekspoor, playing captain Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs helped their country bounce back, defeating Ruud and Ulrikke Eikeri 7-6(5), 7-5 to clinch the Group F tie.

Norway had an opportunity to serve for the second set and force a pressure-filled Match Tie-Break. But the Dutch never panicked and after recovering the break they were down, Schuurs crushed a return at net-man Ruud to give her country the critical break.

Despite 478 places between the two in the WTA rankings, 24-year-old Helgø, who made her Hologic WTA Tour debut in this competition 12 months ago, pushed her higher-ranked opponent hard in a first set that lasted more than an hour. 

World No.51 Rus led 4-2 in the first, but lost the next three games, and twice served to stay in the first set. Both times, she rose to the challenge: Down 5-4, she held at love, and and down 6-5, she held to 15. She opened the ensuing tiebreak by winning four straight points -- and though Helgø got to within one at 4-3 and 5-4 -- Rus wrapped up a one-set lead on her first set point.

Set two was all Rus, who, after saving a break point at 1-1, broke Helgø after the Norwegian had three opportunities to hold for 2-2 and hardly looked back. The last game got complicated, though, as Rus needed a total of five match points to seal the opening win.

"I think it was a high level. We played both good tennis," Rus said afterwards. "She plays very aggressive, good forehand. I think it was very important, the tiebreak, that I played every point. I kept fighting. I stayed in the match even if I didn't play my best tennis.

"Then the second set I started to feel better and serving better, play more aggressive. So, yeah, I'm very happy with my first win here."

In the following match, Ruud made a quick start to his season with his victory on Saturday. Ruud, the No. 11 player in the ATP Rankings and the highest-ranked player in Group F, converted three of his seven break points to clinch victory after 1 hour and 12 minutes.

This was the pair’s second clash at tour level after Ruud triumphed at Acapulco in 2021 in a final-set tie-break. Griekspoor had won their two matches below tour-level (in 2015 and 2019, respectively).

The next Group F match will be in Monday's day session, when Norway tries to get back on track against Croatia. The Netherlands will play Croatia on Tuesday evening.