Gauff and Harrison win and mixed decision against Greece to lead USA to United Cup SFs | ATP tour | Tennis

United Cup

Gauff, Harrison wins and mixed decision against Greece to lead USA to United Cup SFs

Americans now go to Sydney to play Poland or Australia in the semifinals
January 7, 2026

Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison continued their mixed doubles heroics in the United Cup on Wednesday in Perth, leading the United States to the semi-finals of the mixed team tennis tournament.

Gauff and Harrison came from a set down against an inspired Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari to win their third consecutive live mixed rubber 4-6, 6-4 10-8 on their third match point to keep alive the country’s hopes of claiming a third United Cup title in the past four years.

The United States now travels to Sydney to play the winner of the Poland-Australia quarterfinal. In today’s other quarter-final in Perth, Switzerland plays Argentina.

“I’m really happy we can get through it,” Gauff said. “I felt like I played really well today and Christian played really well too. I knew once we had a few chances it would eventually go the wrong way.”

In a rollercoaster quarterfinal, Gauff gave the Americans an early lead with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sakkari. But Tsitsipas responded with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over world No. 9 Taylor Fritz – his first Top 10 victory in more than 18 months.

“I fought for the team and it was a great match from my side,” said a delighted Tsitsipas. “It’s quite easy when you’re 0-1 down; I was aware of the level I had to bring on the pitch today. I felt I owed that to my team.

“Before I went to bed last night, I was already visualizing how the match would go. I was already playing it in my mind and I am so happy that I won exactly as I had planned. I was especially happy with my serve and how I handled the pressure moments with a clear head.”

By putting 84 percent of the first serves into play in the first set, the Greek developed an aggressive mentality. He fired an ace to beat a set point at 4–5 in the second set and broke Fritz in the next game to secure the victory. He won 80 percent of the first serves in the match.

Tsitsipas improved to 9-2 in the United Cup singles. It was his first Top 10 win since beating No. 5 Alexander Zverev, No. 2 Jannik Sinner and No. 10 Casper Ruud to win the 2024 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Tsitsipas will team up with Sakkari to play the deciding mixed doubles match against Christian Harrison and Coco Gauff.

When Coco Gauff is at her best, it is not far-fetched to say that the American puts the star in “stars and stripes”.

So it came as no surprise that Gauff played a major role in the United States’ quarterfinal against Greece on Wednesday. The world number 4 defeated Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 26 minutes at the RAC Arena, giving the Americans an early lead in the tie. What made Gauff’s performance even more impressive was that she was coming off one of her rougher performances in recent memory, especially on serve. Those problems were nowhere to be found under the sunny Perth skies as the 21-year-old led wire-to-wire.

“Definitely a much better game today,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “The last game I just tried to erase it. That’s the beauty of this tournament, and having a team like Taylor [Fritz] and Christian [Harrison] That gave me the opportunity to stay in the tournament and prove myself better today. So I’m absolutely happy to be able to lead my team today.”

Gauff posted much-improved numbers from the service line, hitting 68 percent of her first serves and winning 76 percent of those points. After making fourteen double faults just two days earlier, she reduced that total to just six against Sakkari on her way to victory.

For Sakkari, the match was a step back in what was otherwise a promising week, highlighted by victories over Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu. Although the season is only just starting, 2026 is just around the corner for the 30-year-old. Sakkari, a former Top 5 player on the Mercedes-Benz-owned WTA Tour, enters the year at No. 52 in the PIF WTA rankings.

Gauff’s victory marks her third consecutive victory over Sakkari, giving the American a 6-5 lead in their head-to-head matches.