Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari fire Greece to United Cup QFs | ATP tour | Tennis

Match report

Tsitsipas and Sakkari fire Greece to the QFs of the United Cup

Both singles stars are 2-0 in Perth this week
January 5, 2026

The United Cup has its next quarter-finalist and for the third time in the four editions of the tournament, Greece advances to the knockout round. Stefanos Tsistipas and Maria Sakkari’s three-set wins secured the Group E draw against Great Britain at the RAC Arena in Perth. Olivia Nicholls and Neal Skupski secured a 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 mixed doubles victory for Great Britain in the final match of the tie against Despina Papamichail and Stefanos Sakellaridis.

Notably, Sakkari’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Emma Raducanu was her first career victory against the Briton in the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Sakkari is now 2-0 in singles to start the season, having defeated Naomi Osaka in the win over Japan on January 2.

“Emma, ​​I had four tough defeats against her, so to get that first win against her, against a great opponent, it means a lot, especially for Team Greece,” Sakkari said on the court.

“He has one of the best tennis IQs I have ever seen.”

The Team Greece combination we are here for 🙌 pic.twitter.com/bq5IV3yuNY

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 5, 2026

Earlier, Tsitsipas dug deep for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) victory over Billy Harris to set the tone. In a hard-fought battle, Tsitsipas rallied after a slow start to give Greece a 1-0 lead. The 27-year-old struggled to find his range on his backhand throughout the two-hour and 15-minute clash, but did enough damage on his forehand and held his nerve in the third set tiebreak to prevail.

“I was tired of losing games like that [last year]Tsitsipas said. ‘I lost one in September and I tried everything in my power to prevent the same thing from happening again. I’m grateful that I was able to overcome that. It had crazy energy here.

“I would like to congratulate Billy. He has put in an incredible performance. I haven’t played such a high quality match for so long. He did a great job and pushed me to the limit. I think matches like that are great for the sport.”

Tsitsipas helped Greece beat Japan in their opening United Cup match with a win against Shintaro Mochizuki and now has an 8-2 singles record at the mixed-team event. It is the first time the No. 36 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has achieved consecutive victories since Barcelona last April, when he reached the quarter-finals.