Brits narrowly lose close tie with defending champions USA

Great Britain will have to wait to see if they have qualified for the quarter-finals of the United Cup after losing against USA 2-1 in their second and final match of Group C.

Despite a career-best win from British No.1 Katie Boulter against world No.5 Jessica Pegula, the Brits were unable to replicate their winning performance against Australia as Taylor Fritz carried the Americans to wins in the men’s singles and mixed doubles.

Boulter maintained her 100% record in Perth having come from a set down to beat American No.1 Pegula 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in one of the best matches of her career to date.

In their 14^th meeting on tour, Fritz held off British No.1 Cam Norrie 7-6(5), 6-4 to level the scores at 1-1 and extend his winning record against the Brit to 8-6.

In the deciding mixed doubles Pegula and Fritz combined for a comeback win over Boulter and Neal Skupski 1-6, 7-6(4), 10-7 to seal the tie for the defending champions.

If the USA win their final match against Australia they will qualify for the quarter-finals. All three teams still stand a chance of qualifying should Australia defeat the Americans in the last match of the group.

Facing off against the world No.5, Boulter got off to a flying start in her opening singles rubber. The British No.1 looked to have the first set wrapped up with three set points at 5-4, but the American showed her quality as she went on to win six consecutive games – taking the set, as well as a 3-0 advantage in the second.

Coming off the back of an impressive win over Australia’s Ajla Tomlijanovic only two days before, Boulter found her level once more and broke last year’s Montreal Masters champion three times to clinch the set.

Pegula was one of the driving forces behind USA’s title win at the inaugural United Cup in January this year and thought she had the advantage with a break in the first game of the decider. It wouldn’t take long for Boulter to dust herself off however, as the 27-year-old Brit broke her opponent three times for the second set in a row, to see out a career-best victory in two hours and 45 minutes.

In the men’s singles, Fritz reversed the result of his fixture against Norrie at the last edition of the United Cup. Norrie did well to recover a break deficit against the big-serving American in the first set, but from 5-5 in the tie-break lost a key point on serve to give the world No.10 the lead.

It would be a similar story in the second where despite saving two break points, Norrie lost his final service game late in the set at 4-4, before the American closed out the win in an hour and 48 minutes.

All to play for then in the deciding mixed doubles, where Boulter – returning from her almost three hour victory – and Wimbledon champion Skupski took a commanding first set 6-1 against Pegula and Fritz, running off four games in a row and winning all three of their break points.  

After a slow start, the American duo soon found their feet and, in the end, came out on top in the decisive moments. Skupski missed a crucial smash late in the first set tie-break to give Pegula and Fritz their first set points, before the Americans eventually came from 4-2 down to win the match tie-break 10-7.