Australia’s hopes of winning the inaugural United Cup have suffered a blow following the withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios, with Greece shaping as the team to beat.
World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas has hailed the arrival of the United Cup, and he hopes Greece become the inaugural champions.
The tournament was dealt a big blow on Wednesday when drawcard Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the mixed-team event.
But there will still be plenty of star power, led by 22-time men’s grand slam winner Rafael Nadal and women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek.
Tsitsipas was a huge fan of the Hopman Cup, and he loves the fact the United Cup is also a mixed-team event.
Each tie will comprise two men’s singles matches, two women’s singles matches, and a mixed doubles contest.
Greece, boasting the likes of Tsitsipas and world No.6 Maria Sakkari, are the No.1 seeds.
Unlike the Hopman Cup, ranking points are on offer for the United Cup, and Tsitsipas hopes the tournament is here to stay.
“I’m glad that the United Cup is a thing now. We’ve been discussing this for a very long time, combining it with the women,” Tsitsipas said.
“They deserve a spot in this competition as well. It’s really nice to join forces and make this thing come together for both genders.”
The withdrawal of Kyrgios is a major blow to Australia’s hopes of winning, and will heap further pressure on Alex de Minaur to produce the goods.
Australia’s campaign begins on Thursday night against Great Britain in Sydney.
De Minaur will take on world No.14 Cameron Norrie, while world No.772 Zoe Hives will fly the Australian flag against Katie Swan.
“I’m pretty disappointed. He draws some crowds. I was looking forward to playing him,” Norrie said of Kyrgios’ exit.
“But (it’s) even better for us. We still have a tough opponent against Demon (de Minaur).”
Greek star Tsitsipas faces an intriguing clash with experienced Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in Perth.
Day one also features the US taking on the Czech Republic in Sydney, France against Argentina in Perth, and match-ups between Italy and Brazil, and Switzerland and Kazakhstan in Brisbane.
France’s Alize Cornet is already a fan favourite in Western Australia after producing a series of fighting displays at the Hopman Cup.
The 32-year-old begins her campaign against Argentine Maria Carle on Thursday night, and she has plenty of fond memories of Perth.
“I won the Hopman Cup in 2014 and the Fed Cup in 2019,” Cornet said.
“Yesterday when we had our first hit on centre court with Caroline (Garcia), we had a little moment of emotions coming back on this court.
“It was very powerful, this team experience, and this joy of winning the Fed Cup.
“So I hope this lucky charm is going to act on this team, because … we have a really good team to go far in the tournament.”
Source: AAP