Foki/Sorribes Tormo Guide Spain to Dramatic Win against Brazil

Spain earned victory in its opening Group A tie at this year’s United Cup on Friday when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Sara Sorribes Tormo prevailed in the decisive mixed doubles rubber against Brazil.

With the tie locked at 1-1 after the two singles matches, Davidovich Fokina and Sorribes Tormo rallied past Beatriz Haddad Maia and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-5 to move Spain to 1-0 in Group A play.

"There were going to be a lot of doubts in the beginning, but when I won the first set it was easier for me to play," Davidovich Fokina said when reflecting on his matches in the tie. "And to come back and play with Sara, I think we had a very great time on court, and I think we enjoyed it a lot."

In a tight match inside the RAC Arena in Perth, Davidovich Fokina and Sorribes Tormo recovered from squandering a break advantage in the second set, composing themselves to reel off the final three games to triumph after one hour and 37 minutes.

"I really wanted to play the mixed," Sorribes Tormo said. "It was something I was really looking forward since a long time ago. Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I think Alejandro, he also played really, really good. It was a pleasure for me to play with him."

Earlier, Haddad Maia prevailed in the first Hologic WTA Tour match of the new season, defeating Sorribes Tormo of Spain 7-6(1), 6-2 in their Group A clash at the 2024 United Cup.

In their most recent previous meeting, Haddad Maia took three hours and 51 minutes to outlast Sorribes Tormo in the fourth round of last year's Roland Garros, which was 2023's longest WTA match.

However, Haddad Maia was much more straightforward in Perth, Australia on Friday, taking two hours and six minutes to notch the victory and improve to 4-2 lifetime over 48th-ranked Sorribes Tormo. Haddad Maia was a perfect five-for-five on break points in the encounter.

Haddad Maia relied on her powerful lefty forehand to overcome the superb footspeed of Sorribes Tormo and sweep through the tiebreak at the end of a closely-matched first set.

The 27-year-old Brazilian was a point away from falling behind 3-0 in the second set, but she reeled off six games in a row from there to collect the straight-sets win.

In the first match of the day, Davidovich Fokina kick-started his season with a comfortable win on Friday at the United Cup in Perth, where he dispatched Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-0 to give Spain a 1-0 lead.

The 24-year-old was consistent from the baseline against the World No. 79, striking the ball cleanly off both wings to outlast the Brazilian. Davidovich Fokina did not face a break point, winning 79 per cent (30/38) of his first-serve points to triumph on his United Cup debut after 87 minutes.

The Spaniard has now won his past 11 matches on hard courts against players outside the Top 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Having earned a personal-best 32 tour-level wins in a career-best year in 2023, the World No. 26 wasted little time in moving to 1-0 in the 2024 season. With his win, he improved to 1-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Seyboth Wild, who upset Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros in May.

Each tie consists of three rubbers: one men’s singles, one women’s singles and one mixed doubles. There are 18 countries in the mixed-teams event, with six groups of three teams. Poland, led by Iga Swiatek, is also in Group A.