Bencic/Paul send Switzerland to United Cup SFs | ATP tour | Tennis

Match report

Bencic/Paul send Switzerland to United Cup SFs

Bencic is doing double duty
January 7, 2026

Belinda Bencic and Jakub Paul sent Switzerland to the semi-finals of the United Cup in Perth on Wednesday, where they won the decisive mixed doubles match against Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carle and Guido Andreozzi 6-3, 6-3.

Earlier, Argentina’s Sebastian Baez had maintained his perfect start to the season by beating Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 to level the quarter-final tie at 1-1. In the opening match, Benic defeated Solana Sierra in straight sets.

With the pressure on, Bencic and Paul have delivered and have now won all three mixed doubles matches they have played this week. The pair were in red-hot form throughout the 75-minute match at the RAC Arena against Carle and Andreozzi, taking the first cut in the rallies and closing the net sharply. After the win, the Swiss team celebrated on the pitch, with Bencic and Paul jumping into the air.

Switzerland will face Belgium or the Czech Republic in the semi-finals in Sydney.

Previously, Baez secured only his second Top 10 victory when he defeated Taylor Fritz in the group stage and produced another impressive performance against the 40-year-old Wawrinka, who recorded a dramatic three-set victory against Arthur Rinderknech earlier in the tournament.

Seven-time tour-level title winner Baez saved all five break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as he forced the former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings into mistakes with his flat groundstrokes. Baez has now won three matches at a tour-level hard court event for the second time in his career (Winston-Salem 2023, champion).

Switzerland’s Bencic continued her strong start to the new season with a straight-sets victory over Argentina’s Solana Sierra.

Bencic, number 11 in the WTA Tour Drive by Mercedez-Benz rankings, broke serve in the third game of the opening set. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Bencic breaking again in the third game and seventh game before sealing a 6-2, 6-2 win in one hour and 17 minutes.

The 28-year-old has now won all three of her singles matches at the United Cup in straight sets, having also defeated France’s Leolia Jeanjean and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the group stages.

Bencic, who returned from maternity leave towards the end of the 2024 season, rose from No. 421 in early January to No. 11 in the year-end rankings. She won titles in Abu Dhabi and Tokyo and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.