United Cup
Gauff, Harrison win deciding mixed vs. Greece to lead USA into United Cup QFs
QF will be decided by the mixed doubles between Tsitsipas/Sakkari and Harrison/Gauff
January 07, 2026
Tennis Australia
Coco Gauff defeats Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 at the United Cup.
By ATP/WTA Staff
Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison continued their United Cup mixed doubles heroics in Perth Wednesday to lead the United States into the semi-finals of the mixed teams’ tennis tournament.
Rallying from a set down against an inspired Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, Gauff and Harrison won their third consecutive live mixed rubber 4-6, 6-4 10-8 on their third match point to keep alive the country’s hopes of claiming a third United Cup title in the past four years.
The United States will now travel to Sydney to play the winner of the Poland-Australia semi-final. Today’s other quarter-final in Perth sees Switzerland play Argentina.
In a rollercoaster quarter-final, Gauff gave the Americans an early lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Sakkari. But Tsitsipas responded with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over World No. 9 Taylor Fritz – his first Top 10 victory in more than 18 months.
Claiming his first Top 10 win in more than 18 months, the 27-year-old former World No. 3 rode a serving masterclass to a 6-4, 7-5 win, levelling the tie after Coco Gauff’s earlier win over Maria Sakkari.
“I was fighting for the team and it was such a great match from my end,” a delighted Tsitsipas said. “It’s pretty straight forward when you are 0-1 down; I was aware of the level I needed to bring onto the court today. I felt I owed it to my team.
“Before I went to bed last night I was already visualising how the match was going to go. I was already playing it in my mind and I’m so happy to win exactly the way I planned. I was especially pleased with my serve and how I dealt with the pressure moments with a clear head.”
Putting 84 per cent of first serves into play in the first set put the Greek in an aggressive mindset. He fired an ace to fight off a set point at 4-5 in the second set and broke Fritz in the following game to set up the win. He won 80 per cent of first serves in the match.
Tsitsipas improved to 9-2 at United Cup in singles. It was his first Top 10 win since defeating No. 5 Alexander Zverev, No. 2 Jannik Sinner and No. 10 Casper Ruud to win the 2024 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
Tsitsipas will partner Sakkari in the deciding mixed doubles against Christian Harrison and Coco Gauff.
When Coco Gauff is at her best, it’s not far-fetched to say the American puts the star in “stars and stripes”.
So it came as no surprise that Gauff delivered in a big moment on Wednesday in the United States’ quarter-final tie against Greece. The World No. 4 defeated Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 26 minutes at RAC Arena to give the Americans an early lead in the tie.
What made Gauff’s performance even more impressive was that she was coming off one of her rougher outings in recent memory, particularly on serve. Those issues were nowhere to be found under the sunny Perth skies, as the 21-year-old led wire-to-wire.
“Definitely a much better match today,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “Last match, I just tried to erase it. That’s the beauty of this tournament, and having a team like Taylor [Fritz] and Christian [Harrison] that gave me the chance to stay in the tournament and be able to prove myself better today. So definitely happy to give my team the lead today.”
Gauff posted much-improved numbers from the service line, landing 68 per cent of her first serves while winning 76 per cent of those points. After hitting 14 double faults just two days earlier, she cut that total to just six against Sakkari en route to victory.
For Sakkari, the match was a step back in what has otherwise been a promising week, highlighted by wins over Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu. While the season is only just beginning, 2026 looms large for the 30-year-old. A former Top 5 player on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, Sakkari enters the year at No. 52 in the PIF WTA Rankings.
Gauff’s win marks her third straight over Sakkari, giving the American a 6-5 edge in their head-to-head.
