In the early morning of January 2, the United Cup ended a new round of competition, and the game was quite exciting, with all four games with a score of 2-1. The No. 3 seed USA did not perform well, losing 1-2 to Australia. The two Masters champions, Čurić and Hurkacz, both lost, which ultimately led to the team's loss.
USA 1-2 Australia
The U.S. is the No. 3 seed in the tournament and is one of the favourites to win the tournament, featuring two top singles players, Fritz and Pegula. Australia has a clear weakness, their women's singles is Tomjanovic, and the women's singles of other teams has a big gap in strength, and they have obviously lost points.
The first men's singles match was played against Fritz of the United States and De Minaur of Australia. Fritz is ranked 11th in the world and De Minaur is ranked 12th in the world, and the two sides are relatively close. Fritz was clearly in poor form, losing two games in a row 4-6, 2-6, and losing 2-0 quickly, with the United States dropping a point first.
In the second women's singles match, Pegula faced Tomjanovic. In the first set, the two sides competed fiercely, and when they reached a tie-break, Pegula narrowly won 8-6. In the second set, Pegula played her own rhythm and won easily 6-3 to win 2-0 to equalize for the United States.
In the third mixed doubles match, Pegula/Rahm took on Hunter/Iboden. All four are good doublesmen, but Pegula is a big drain in the women's singles, and she is clearly a weakness in the mixed doubles, which has become a target for her opponents. In the end, Pegula/Rahm lost two sets in a row, 3-6, 1-6, and lost 0-2.
In the end, the United States lost to Australia 1-2, and in the end, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia in this group all lost 1-2, forming an endless loop.
In the other three matches, the top seed Poland did not have an easy time, and in the match against Spain, Masters champion Hurkacz lost 1-2 to Fokina, which was very unexpected. Thankfully, Poland had world No. 1 Swiatek in the women's singles, who comfortably beat Morto 6-2, 6-1 in the women's singles match to equalise for Poland. In the Mixed Doubles, Hurkacz/Swiatek sent away double eggs to beat Fokina/Morto 6-0 in two to seal the win for Poland. Poland won two in a row to secure the top spot in the group.
Croatia, the sixth seed, took on Norway in their first men's singles match, when Masters champion Čurić lost 1-2 to Ruud, and Croatia dropped a point first. In the Women's Singles, Vekic defeated Helgo 2-1 and the two sides drew again. In the Mixed Doubles, Vekic and Dodik lost 1-2 to Ekri and Ruud and Croatia lost 1-2 to Norway. Norway won 1 and lost 1, Crowe First and the Netherlands both played only one game, and the two sides will directly PK to determine the ranking of this group.
No.4 seeds France and Germany also played quite well. French Men's Singles Mannalino lost 0-2 to Zverev, and French Women's Singles Garcia defeated Germany's Grand Slam champion Kerber 2-1. In the Mixed Doubles, Garcia/Vassell beat Zverev/Kerber 2-1 and France narrowly won 2-1. Germany finished the match with 1 win and 1 loss, while France and Italy both played just one game, and the match between the two teams decided the final position of the group.