Taylor Fritz gives US 1-0 lead at mixed teams United Cup

SYDNEY (AP) — Taylor Fritz broke Jiri Lehecka’s serve in the ninth game of the second set and went on to beat the Czech player 6-3, 6-4 to give the U.S a 1-0 lead in its United Cup mixed teams match on Thursday.

Madison Keys played Marie Bouzkova in the following Group C match at Ken Rosewall Arena in an attempt to give the Americans a 2-0 lead after the opening day.

Two singles matches — one men’s and one women’s — will be played over each of two days, with a mixed doubles to conclude the five-match encounter on the second day.

“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.”

Fritz saved both break points he faced in his first head-to-head meeting with the 21-year-old Lehecka.

”When I was down, I felt that I was coming up with big serves when I needed the free points,” Fritz said. “I don’t think from the ground I maybe played my best, but when I was down break point or 0-30, I was coming up with big serves.”

The U.S. is the third-seeded team in the tournament and also features world No. 3 Jessica Pegula and men’s No. 19 Frances Tiafoe.

On Friday in singles, Pegula will take on two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Tiafor plays Tomas Machac. Pegula and Fritz are scheduled to play mixed doubles for the U.S.

The inaugural United Cup has teams from 18 countries competing in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney through to Jan. 4. The three city champions and the next-best performing country from the group stage will meet at Ken Rosewall Arena from Jan. 6 to 8 to determine the overall winner.

Top-seeded Greece is led by world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 6-ranked woman Maria Sakkari. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 11 Hubert Hurkacz will lead second-seeded Poland,

Rafael Nadal will team with world No. 13 Paula Badosa for Spain, while Italy will have world No. 16 Matteo Berrettini and Martina Trevisan.

Each host city will feature two groups of three countries competing in a round-robin format.

Among other matches on Thursday’s opening day, it was Italy vs. Brazil in a day Group E match and Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan at night in Group B at Brisbane. At Perth, Greece plays Bulgaria in Group A and France plays Argentina later in a night Group F match.

__

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports