Heroics from Taylor Fritz, redemption from Coco Gauff send USA to United Cup QFs in Perth | ATP tour | Tennis

United Cup

Fritz heroics and Gauff redemption send USA to United Cup QFs in Perth

The United States is chasing its third title in four years
January 5, 2026

The United States qualified for the quarter-finals of the United Cup in Perth on Monday after a complicated group stage victory over Spain.

World number 9 Taylor Fritz had to save a match point against Jaume Munar to keep the defending champions’ hopes of beating Group A alive after Coco Gauff suffered a shock three-set loss to world number 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the opening match of the day.

The United States’ conquest of Group A was not complete until Gauff found redemption in the mixed doubles, teaming with Christian Harrison for a 7-6(5), 6-0 win over Inigo Cervantes and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers after rallying from an early break in the first set. Spain is now eliminated from the tournament.

In the second match of the day, world number 9 Fritz saved a match point in a do-or-die clash with Munar, who would have sent Argentina to the quarter-finals had he upset the American.

Facing his first break points of the match at 5-6 in the third, Fritz failed to convert both match point chances and later saved a match point on his serve in the tie-break before winning 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(6) in three hours and 14 minutes.

“It was a crazy match,” Fritz said. “I thought Jaume played really well. I felt like I was in a lot of his service games, but he played so well on so many of the big points.

“I had to come up with a lot to keep myself in the game or convert the big points. It was very tough, very physical.”

Fritz took a seven-minute medical timeout at 4-all in the third set to treat a bloodied toe after a long slide chasing a drop shot. He saved a break point in the next game.

The United States won Group A with a 2-0 record after an opening win over Argentina. Had they lost the mixed, the Americans would have finished second in Group A and only claimed a place in the quarterfinals if they had a better record than the other two runners-up in the Group.

Fritz came into the tournament after intensive offseason rehabilitation on his knee for what he described as “pretty serious tendonitis.” But he did not concede a cent to Munar in a series of lengthy basic exchanges. He also fired 16 aces, in addition to the 22 against Baez.

“The knee is something I’m going to have to deal with for a while,” he said. “…I started feeling it towards the end of the first set, but it didn’t get any worse. Normally I start feeling it and it gets worse and worse and worse until I can’t even bend it anymore. So I’m really happy with the fact that it stayed at the level it was at and it wasn’t bad enough to keep me from playing.”

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro is coming off a breakout 2025 season that saw her post a career-high ranking of No. 40, reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon and reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Montreal.

On Monday at the United Cup, the Spaniard carried that momentum into 2026, upsetting world No. 4 Coco Gauff in dominant fashion 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-0 at the RAC Arena. The loss is Gauff’s first at the United Cup in 10 singles and doubles matches; she entered the day 6-0 in singles and 9-0 overall.

The victory marks Bouzas Maneiro’s first career Top-5 victory.

“I know Coco and she is a fighter,” Bouzas Maneiro said after the match. “She’s there the whole time in the match, so I knew I had to be there, and even if I’m 4-1 up, I have to be there. And yes, she won the second set and I went to the toilet and I tried to concentrate to take it point by point.

“And that was my mentality in the third set [there] with strength every point, because even if you are [up] 3-0 or 4-0, you have to be ready for it.”

Bouzas Maneiro immediately set the tone, breaking Gauff in the opening match on his way to a 5-0 lead. She then broke the American in all four of her service games in the first set and nine times in total.

Her forehand – which produced 11 winners in the match – fueled her early surge, but her return match, combined with Gauff’s serving problems, defined the rest of the match. It was in stark contrast to Gauff’s dominant performance against Argentina’s Solana Sierra earlier this week.

Gauff only hit 60% of her first serves and won just under 60% of those points. She was further undone by 14 double faults and 54 unforced errors. Bouzas Maneiro could only match Gauff’s first-serve numbers, but managed her unforced errors more effectively (41) and converted 9 of 12 break points.

Still, despite her struggles, Gauff refused to go quietly. She rallied from 4-1 to take the second set in a tiebreak and looked poised for a remarkable comeback. But Bouzas Maneiro broke to open the decider and never looked back. He raced to a 4-0 lead after saving two break points in a match of five deuces.

After 2 hours and 12 minutes, Bouzas Maneiro closed out the match with a third-set bagel, earning some redemption after being knocked out in a deciding set by Sierra earlier in the week and securing the biggest win of her career.