Rafael Nadal could not end 2022 on a winning note, going down 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the United Cup mixed team tennis event here on Saturday. Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open titles in the year 2022, taking his Grand Slam title count to a record 22. But due to foot, rib and abdominal problems, he was able to compete in only four tournaments after Wimbledon. Norrie’s win gave Britain a 1–0 lead over Spain.
In Brisbane, top-ranked player Inga Swiatek beat Yulia Putinseva 6-1, 6-3 to give Poland an early lead over Kazakhstan. Bulgaria and Belgium are tied 1-1 after the first day in Perth. Alison Van Uytvanch gave Belgium an early lead with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win over Isabella Shinnikova in women’s singles, but Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov was beaten by David Goffin 6-4, 7-5 in men’s singles. He was successful in getting his team equal. Earlier, Jiri Lehka beat world number 12 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2 to give the Czech Republic a 2-0 lead over Germany.
The 21-year-old Leheka, ranked 81st in the world, broke her opponent four times in this Group C match. After Lehka’s win, Marie Bujkova gave the Czech Republic a 2-0 lead by defeating Jule Niemeyer 6-2, 7-5 in the second match. Petra Kvitova, the Czech Republic’s number one female player, can win this match for her country by defeating Laura Siegmund on Sunday. In another match being played in Brisbane, Brazil has taken a 2-0 lead over Norway.
World 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Norway’s Malene Helgo 6-4, 6-2 while Filipe Meligeni Alves beat Viktor Durasovic 6-3, 6-3 to give Brazil a 2-0 lead. After Friday’s matches, Greece (4-1) in Group A, Switzerland (5-0) in Group B, USA (4-1) in Group C, Britain (3-2) in Group D, Italy (3–2) and France (5–0) remained on top of Group F.
