Coco Gauff led the defending champion United States into the United Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, winning both her singles and mixed doubles matches to secure a 2-1 victory over Greece. Following a difficult start to the week marked by a poor singles loss and social media scrutiny regarding her comments on American fans, Gauff rebounded with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Maria Sakkari.
"I think I was striking the ball well today, and when that happens, my movement on the court is also good," Gauff noted after the match. The victory moves the Americans from Perth to Sydney, where they will continue their title defence this weekend.
Gauff's singles performance was a sharp turnaround from her previous outing, where she hit 14 double faults. Against Sakkari, she landed 68% of her first serves and limited double faults to just six. The 21-year-old described her earlier loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro as "one of the worst matches of my career," attributing her recovery to a shift in mindset.
"I think just mentality," she explained. "I tried to erase it and learn from it. Today, it was the opposite... being positive and the mentality is everything." The win gave Gauff a 6-5 edge in her career head-to-head against the Greek former world No. 3.
In the deciding mixed doubles match, Gauff and Christian Harrison rallied from a set down to beat Tsitsipas and Sakkari 4-6, 6-4, [10-8]. Despite holding a 5-1 lead in the 10-point tiebreaker, the Americans had to withstand a Greek rally that leveled the score at 6-6 before clinching the victory on their third match point.
Harrison credited Gauff’s composure for the team's success, stating, "No matter the score she’s just so calm... I’ve got to feed off what she’s doing, so she sets the tone out there." Gauff added that the pair remained "free and aggressive" to ensure the momentum eventually swung in their favor.
Greece leveled the tie when Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated world No. 9 Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-5. Tsitsipas, who recorded his first top-10 victory in 18 months, put 84% of his first serves into play during the opening set and maintained an aggressive approach throughout.
"I was fighting for the team and it was such a great match from my end," Tsitsipas said. He revealed that he had spent the previous night visualizing the win, specifically focusing on serve accuracy and handling pressure moments. The result forced a deciding mixed doubles rubber to determine which nation would advance to the knockout stage in Sydney.
The United States now prepares to face the winner of the Poland-Australia quarterfinal in Sydney on Saturday, January 10. The victory marks an emotional recovery for Gauff, who acknowledged the importance of her teammates in helping her move past earlier struggles.
"That’s the beauty of this tournament, and having a team like Taylor and Christian that gave me the chance to stay in the tournament and be able to prove myself better today," Gauff said. The Americans are now two wins away from claiming their third United Cup title in the past four years.