Gauff glides past Fernandez with dominant United Cup victory

Fritz plays Auger-Aliassime in bid to seal tie for USA vs. Canada

December 29, 2024

Coco Gauff sees off Leylah Fernandez at the United Cup in the pair's first meeting.

Will Russell/Getty Images

Coco Gauff sees off Leylah Fernandez at the United Cup in the pair’s first meeting.By ATP/WTA Staff

Coco Gauff picked up right where she left off last season by defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-2 to open Team USA’s campaign in Group A at the United Cup in Perth. In the first career meeting between the two young stars, the World No. 3 and WTA Finals champion unleashed her power and speed to secure a physical win.

Taylor Fritz will look to clinch the win for the top-seeded Americans when he takes on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second singles match. Champions in the inaugural United Cup two years ago, the Americans are bidding to become the first country to win the team competition twice.

“I’m super happy with how I played, and super happy to get a point on the board for my team,” said Gauff. “I knew I was going to have to run a lot. Leylah can hit some crazy angles, so I was just trying my best to hit the best possible shot on them.”

After a pair of lengthy service games to open the duel, Gauff broke open the match with a break of serve to lead 2-1. With Gauff serving at 3-2, Fernandez earned her first break chances to level the set. But facing down a 15-40 deficit, Gauff unleashed an outrageous display of speed to wipe away the Canadian’s hope of a comeback and went on to confidently close out the set, aided by a 92 percent (11 of 12) win percentage behind her first serve.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/usa-canada-perth-2025-sunday

Leave a Reply