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On Day 2 of the United Cup, Petra Kvitova wrote a new chapter in her history of heroics for the Czech Republic. The two-time Wimbledon champion saved seven set points in the opening set to defeat World No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 7-6(6), 6-4 to give the Czech Republic their first win of the mixed-teams event in Sydney.

The win closed the Americans' lead to 2-1, with Frances Tiafoe to face Tomas Machac in the last singles match of the tie. A win for Tiafoe would seal the Group C tie for the Americans. Otherwise, the tie will be decided by mixed doubles.

"We keep fighting," Kvitova said. "I think USA is such a great team with great players in the team. We are not really favorites here, but we are fighting every match, every point. That's our team spirit."

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The 80-minute opening set was a supreme tug-o-war. Neither player saw a break point through the first eight games of the match, leading to a dramatic finish that saw a combined 13 set points come and go between the two. Pegula gamely saved six set points to hold to 5-5 and then broke Kvitova straight away to earn a chance to serve out the set.

With the luxury of a late start at the inaugural United Cup, Team Spain took full advantage of some leisure time by taking a trip to the iconic Sydney Harbour on Thursday. Led by Rafael Nadal, Pablo Carreno Busta and Paula Badosa, the Spaniards will open play on Saturday — New Year's Eve — against Great Britain.

"We're going to try our best to start in a good way and then enjoy the last day of the year," Nadal said. "Starting with a good result on the 31st helps to finish the year in a positive way... We're going to work as a team, and let's see if we can [take] our chances."

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The 36-year-old never played for Spain at Hopman Cup, and he is enjoying the unique experience of the mixed-gender event in Australia.

"It's a new experience, new type of competition," he said of the United Cup. "I think all of us, we are very excited to enjoy this special one... We never worked as a mixed team."

When Stan Wawrinka injured his foot early in the 2021 season, he thought he’d miss only a few weeks. Instead, he was sidelined for more than a year — and suffered many moments of doubt that he would ever play tennis again.

“Of course there were those questions in my mind,” Wawrinka said last year in Monte Carlo before his first match back on the ATP Tour. “I was afraid things wouldn’t happen the way I wanted them to happen.”

Wawrinka faced Alexander Bublik in that comeback match and played credibly, losing in three sets. As it turns out, the 37-year-old Swiss player’s first match of 2023 comes against Bublik on Friday in Brisbane as Switzerland and Kazakhstan meet in a Group B confrontation at the United Cup.

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His 2022 season, understandably, was an uneven one, but there were flickers of the elite game that took Wawrinka to three Grand Slam singles titles. He reached the quarter-finals in Basel and the semis in Metz, beating then-World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round before falling in the semis to — yes — Bublik, when a hamstring injury forced his retirement 18 minutes in.

Alize Cornet passed the test of a first-time encounter with flying colours on Thursday at the United Cup, defeating Maria Lourdes Carle 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 15 minutes to give Team France a 1-0 lead over Team Argentina in Perth.

Cornet, a quarter-finalist at the 2022 Australian Open, had never faced No.147-ranked Carle before. Consequently, the first five games were filled with extended baseline exchanges as both players probed each other's games while refusing to miss.

It was University of Georgia alumna Carle, 22, who ran out of ideas first. A lapse into error handed Cornet the first break for 4-2, and the Frenchwoman seized momentum firmly to reel off six straight games, including 13 of the last 14 points of the first set.

Punishing Carle's second serves and getting the better of the all-court rallies, Cornet was in control at 2-0 in the second set -- until she squandered three game points for 3-0. Carle took advantage, breaking back with a vicious slice to halt the run of games against her.

But Cornet refused to let that become a turning point. A booming backhand winner down the line regained her advantage for 3-1 and she did not drop another game, sealing her first match point with an authoritative smash.

The world’s best tennis players will be competing for more than AUD $100 million prize money this summer.

The historic prize pool is a result of a record $76.5 million in prize money for the Australian Open (a 3.4 per cent increase) as well as the addition of the lucrative new United Cup event.

“It is critical to the continued success of the Australian tennis summer that we provide strong and relevant playing opportunities and ensure that the best players in the world are compensated appropriately. We want to ensure Australia is the launchpad for the global season and that we see as much of them as possible. They inspire us all to engage in this great sport as well as inspiring future generations,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.

“We are delighted to have more than $100 million in prize money on offer across the Australian summer, along with more chances to compete across the country. We’ve worked tirelessly alongside the ATP and WTA to launch the exciting new United Cup, which includes its own significant ranking points and prize money, a further two WTA and ATP events in Adelaide, the Hobart International and an upgraded ATP 100 Challenger in Canberra.

“At the Australian Open we’ve upped prize money for every round from qualifying, through to the finals, with the major increases in the early rounds, where these substantial rewards help players invest in their own careers and in many cases, set themselves up for success throughout the year.”

World No.12 Belinda Bencic opened her season with a tense 7-6(0), 6-3 win over No. 51 Yulia Putintseva on Day 1 of the United Cup in Brisbane. The win gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead over Kazakhstan in Group B.

Bencic secured the straight-set win by coolly reeling in Putintseva, who led by a break early in both sets. After falling behind 4-1 in the opening set, Bencic fought off three set points on her serve to level at 5-5. She took her momentum into the tie-break, where she kept a clean sheet to secure the opening set after 72 minutes.

"I'm happy I kept fighting," Bencic said. "For sure the positive attitude as well from my team, the crowd, and the great atmosphere got me through."

Bencic pulled off another comeback in the second set, though with fewer dramatics. Despite falling behind 1-3, the Swiss Olympic champion never lost her cool. With both team captain Stan Wawrinka and coach Dmitry Tursunov urging her on, Bencic cleaned up her errors and ratcheted up the pressure to win the next five games.

"How can you not listen to such a champion when he's telling you things," Bencic said, referring to Wawrinka. "I was trying to listen, to focus, and do what I had to do."

The constant, intense movement for tennis players’ wrists could lead to inflammation and stress. One way to help is to have a qualified ATP physio like David Pires apply high-quality kinesiology tape. 

The point of applying the Nitto kinesiology tape is to increase the blood flow as well as stabilise and protect the wrist. Importantly, the quality of Nitto’s tape ensures that the treatment does not restrict the movement of the wrist, allowing players to compete to the best of their abilities. 

The ATP went behind the scenes with Pires as he demonstrated such a wrist treatment.

Nitto is the Official Athletic Tape Partner of the ATP Tour, and Title Partner of the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held in Turin 12-19 November 2023.

After six months out, Alexander Zverev will make his return from injury this week when he competes for Team Germany at the United Cup. The two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion tore three ligaments in his right ankle during his Roland Garros semi-final clash against Rafael Nadal in June, before suffering a bone edema injury in September.

Fit again, the 25-year-old is delighted to be able to compete over the next fortnight in Sydney, having endured a testing period on the sidelines.

“Finally being back on court, being back in a competitive official tournament as well [is great],” Zverev said. “It's been a long time for me unfortunately but I'm looking forward to Australia. I've always enjoyed being here, I've always enjoyed coming back here and as I said, just playing tennis again, just being out competing and I've always enjoyed team events.

“Of course, I'm coming back from injury. I think I'm not going to be playing my absolute best tennis this week but I'm looking forward to being back on the court and I think the team atmosphere will help.”

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Cameron Norrie ensured Great Britain made a winning start to its United Cup tie Thursday when he powered past Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-3 to give his nation a 1-0 lead against Australia in Group D.

In front of a lively crowd in Sydney, the World No. 14 did his best to quieten the Australian supporters, hitting his flat backhand with consistent depth to keep De Minaur pinned behind the baseline for large periods of the 90-minute encounter.

“I am feeling great,” Norrie said. “First match of the year there is a lot of nerves. It is a tough task to play Demon in Australia on this court, him playing at home. He loves playing here and it was not easy. I ran a lot, absolutely drenched three shirts. A lot of running and it was humid in there. I enjoyed the atmosphere and it was nice to get the win as well.”

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The 27-year-old, who won 87 per cent (26/30) of his first-serve points, crucially rallied from 1-1, 0/40 on serve in the first set, gaining momentum from that moment to take control of the first set. Norrie then earned a break in the second set and won the majority of the lung-busting exchanges to triumph.

Sixteen years ago, 19-year-old Novak Djokovic lifted the third ATP Tour trophy of his career in Adelaide. The Serbian, now a 91-time tour-level titlist, will try to triumph in the Australian city once again next week when he takes on a tough field at the Adelaide International 1.

“The field is super strong. You have Medvedev, Felix, Rublev. You have really, really top guys,” Djokovic said Thursday. “Also in the opening rounds, you can play Thanasi Kokkinakis, who is title defender, right? That could be fun actually. Playing Thanasi in front of his home fans, could be fun.”

Djokovic knows he will need to be sharp from the first ball at the ATP 250. As the 35-year-old noted, some of the world’s best players will be competing, including former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, red-hot Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, 2022 Nitto ATP Finals semi-finalist Andrey Rublev, Rolex Paris Masters champion Holger Rune and Italian Jannik Sinner.

“I always have faith in myself and belief that I can win every tournament that I play in. I think with the career that I've had, I feel like I deserve to have that kind of I guess mental approach,” Djokovic said. “Things are obviously different. Lots of young guys on the tour, [there has been] kind of a shift of generations. But [Rafael] Nadal and myself, [we are] still going strong from the older guys.”

Djokovic added: “I know what I need to do in order to compete with them, in order to be one of the contenders for the title here and in Melbourne. The good memories and good history that I have on Australian soil gives me a lot of positive emotions and belief that I can do it again, that I can go far.”

The first three-set battle of the inaugural United Cup saw Despina Papamichail come from a set and a break down to defeat Isabella Shinikova 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in two hours and 19 minutes, giving Team Greece a 1-0 lead over Team Bulgaria in Perth.

It was the second time in the past three months that Papamichail had defeated Shinikova from a set down, having previously won 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in a Monastir ITF W60 tournament in October.

Initially, Shinikova's heavier weight of shot prevailed. The 31-year-old built an early 3-1 lead, and resisted a comeback attempt from Papamichail to survive eight deuces and regain the break for 4-2.

But trailing 2-1 in the second set, Papamichail's tenacious qualities shone through. The Greek player began to find a plethora of winners, with her backhand particularly impressive, and delivered a near-flawless passage of play to level the match.

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Taylor Fritz in action on Thursday in Sydney.

Madison Keys earns victory on Thursday.

Jiri Lehecka competes for Team Czech Republic.

Paula Badosa and Rafael Nadal visit Sydney Harbour.

Team Spain relax by Sydney Harbour.

One of the intriguing elements of the ATP Challenger Tour is the chance to witness the game’s brightest young stars before they evolve into household names at the season’s most prestigious events.

Each week players work hard to secure points, prize money, and the chance to launch their career to new heights. In 2022, several youngsters made a sudden impact on the Challenger Tour and now they hold high hopes of furthering their careers this upcoming season.

ATPTour.com looks at five Challenger Tour players to keep an eye on in 2023, including Frenchman Luca Van Assche, who looks to build upon his late-season surge while Italy’s Francesco Passaro hopes to use the valuable Milan experience as a stepping stone in his career.

Luca Van Assche
The 18-year-old, who won the 2021 Roland Garros boys' singles title, has won nine of his past 10 matches, including collecting his maiden Challenger title at the Maia Challenger. The Frenchman was also a finalist at the Lisbon, Brest, and Valencia Challengers.

World No.15 Beatriz Haddad Maia gave Brazil a 1-0 lead over fifth seeds Italy after a dominant win over World No. 27 Martina Trevisan, 6-2, 6-0, on Day 1 of the United Cup in Brisbane.

"We played in the middle of last year and it was three sets," Haddad Maia said. "I worked very hard to push myself to play my best tennis. I worked very hard in the pre-season to be as ready as I could today."

The top seeds in Group E, Italy will try to level the tie in the second singles match of the day, as Lorenzo Musetti takes on Felipe Meligeni Alves later.

The Hologic WTA Tour's Most Improved Player of 2022, Haddad Maia picked up right where she left off in her breakout season. The Brazilian No.1 dominated behind her serve, winning 73 per cent of her first-serve points.

Trevisan, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year, struggled to find any inroads. In the face of Haddad Maia's constant baseline and return pressure, she held serve just once in the match, getting broken six times.

Taylor Fritz wasted little time in earning his first win of the season Thursday when he overcame Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4 to give Team United States a 1-0 lead against Team Czech Republic at the United Cup.

Competing on Ken Rosewall Arena, the World No. 9 outlasted the 21-year-old Lehecka in the baseline exchanges, demonstrating great footwork to dictate on his forehand throughout the 75-minute clash in Sydney.

“In a team event, first match of the year, there are always some nerves coming out, so it is great to come out and get the team ahead,” Fritz said. “Hopefully loosen everyone else up. It is a tough position to play if behind, so it is really good for the team.”

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The 25-year-old also raised his level when needed, saving both break points he faced in his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Lehecka.

The 2023 season is starting on a high.

Week 1 will feature the United Cup, the new 18-country, mixed-teams event. The world's best players will be in action across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, including Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Poland's Iga Swiatek. ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch at the inaugural event.

1) Playing Captains: Five of the 18 countries competing in the inaugural United Cup feature playing captains: Bulgaria (Grigor Dimitrov), France (Edouard Roger-Vasselin), Greece (Petros Tsitsipas), Kazakhstan (Alexander Bublik) and Switzerland (Stan Wawrinka).

2) Nadal Leads Spanish Bid: World No. 2 Nadal headlines Team Spain at the United Cup. The 36-year-old performed impressively on Australian soil last season, winning an ATP 250 title in Melbourne before he captured the Australian Open crown. WTA star Paula Badosa and World No. 13 Pablo Carreno Busta will also feature for Spain against Team Australia and Team Great Britain in Group D.

3) Home Favourites Australia: Co-captains Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur will aim to bring home fans joy and guide Team Australia to the title in Sydney over the next 11 days. The home nation will be spearheaded by Alex de Minaur, with Ajla Tomljanovic the women’s No. 1 singles player. The team has been bonding in the lead-up to the mixed-nations event, having visited Campbells Cove earlier this week. Australia will be looking to use its collective team spirit on court to earn wins in Sydney.

Leave it up to Iga Swiatek to change the trajectory. 

In this case, we’re not talking about her on-court results. During Poland’s United Cup press conference Wednesday in Brisbane, Swiatek (in good fun) wanted to move on from the team camaraderie line of questioning.

To be fair, it’s safe to say her fellow Polish teammates are reveling in not only playing together at this inaugural team event, but have aspirations of succeeding. 

“Yeah, pumped for the team, and we will try our best,” said Hubert Hurkacz, the ATP’s World No. 10.

Still, Swiatek was ready to change it up, which of course, led to questions on her 2022 season, where she finished as the top-ranked player by a landslide. Swiatek, who finished with more than twice as many rankings points as No. 2 Ons Jabeur, was quick to admit her season went far better than she could have imagined — but was also ready to move on.

Returning to the scene of past successes can be daunting, but Team France’s Caroline Garcia and Alize Cornet are feeling nothing but excitement as they return to Perth to spearhead Team France’s charge at the inaugural United Cup.

The pair was part of France’s Fed Cup-winning team in 2019, a victory that was clinched with final victory against Australia in the city in Western Australia.

“Yesterday when we had our first hit on centre court with Caroline, we had a little moment of emotion coming back on this court,” said Cornet of Perth’s RAC Arena, where Team France will take on Team Croatia and Team Argentina in Group F. “It was very powerful, this team experience, and this joy of winning… So I hope this lucky charm is going to act on this team, because we have a really good team to go far in the tournament.”

Captain Edouard Roger-Vasselin has a strong team at his disposal this week, when Top 50 ATP stars Arthur Rinderknech and Adrian Mannarino join Cornet and WTA World No. 4 Caroline Garcia as their team’s singles players. Garcia reached her maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open before lifting the biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, and the 29-year-old is keen to showcase more of that form to help her team to success this week in Perth.

“I think with the format, every match and every game is important,” said Garcia. “If you cannot qualify as first one, it would be the second one, and so every match is very important for the team. But also as your personal goal, you want to keep improving, play the best you can when you're on court.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas is determined to “create some beautiful memories” at the inaugural United Cup.

The No.4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is already achieving that goal, even before taking to the court for his first match.

Tsitsipas visited Perth’s picturesque Rottnest Island yesterday, where he played beach tennis and enjoyed local delicacies for lunch alongside team-mates Despina Papamichail and Valentini Grammatikopoulou.

Valentini Grammatikopoulou, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Despina Papamichail pose on the beach on Rottnest Island. Photo Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images.

The Team Greece members also captured selfies with quokkas, small animals that are unique to the island.