Australia defeats Czechia to win group; both qualify for United Cup quarterfinals

Host nation Australia advanced to the United Cup quarterfinals after a comeback 2-1 victory over Czechia on Tuesday.

After two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova defeated Maya Joint in straight sets to give Czechia the early lead, Australia faced an uphill climb to qualify on home soil.

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Alex de Minaur responded in front of a lively Ken Rosewall Arena crowd, defeating Jakub Mensik 6-4, 6-1 to level the tie. He then teamed with Storm Hunter to clinch the result, beating Miriam Skoch and Dalibor Svrcina 6-2, 6-3 in mixed doubles to secure the 2-1 win and top Group D.

Despite the loss, Czechia also advanced to the quarterfinals as the best runner-up in Sydney, thanks in part to Krejcikova’s singles victory.

Krejcikova, ranked No. 63 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Australian No. 1, who had missed her country’s opening tie of the competition due to illness. Although Joint narrowed the gap to 4-3, Krejcikova held firm to close out the opening set 6-4.

"Felt really good to be back out here today," Joint said to reporters. "I felt ready to play and ready to compete. Yeah, I mean, love the atmosphere. [I] was pretty disappointed I couldn't play the first match."

In the second set, Krejcikova -- who defeated Norway’s Malene Helgo in straight sets in Czechia’s first tie of the tournament -- again raced to an early lead, winning the first four games before sealing the 6-4, 6-1 win in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

"I’m very happy with my performance," Krejcikova said on court. "I’m happy with the way I played from beginning to end. I had great support as well. It was a little up and down in the first set, but I’m happy to come through. I was trying to be aggressive from the start, and it’s nice to have some matches under my belt. I felt a little better on the court today."

In men's singles, de Minaur delivered a composed performance to defeat Mensik 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 31 minutes and level the tie at 1-1.

"I didn’t start the year the way I wanted to," said de Minaur, who fell to Casper Ruud in his first group match. "But something I’ve done really well in my career is bouncing back, so I’m happy I bounced back today."

Mensik produced moments of flair early in the second set, highlighted by an audacious front-facing tweener set up by a booming first serve. But de Minaur remained relentless, saving all four break points he faced and improving his record to 5-0 against the Czech in their head-to-head series.