Perth, Jan 2 (IANS) Argentina made a winning start in the 2026 edition of the United Cup mixed-gender team tennis competition, picking up the first team win by beating Spain in their opening match in Perth on Friday. Singles victories by Sebastian Baez and Solana Sierra gave them a 2-0 lead before Guido Andreozzi and Maria Lourdes Carle won the mixed doubles match to secure a comprehensive win.
World No. 66 Sierra clinched the win for her country in Group A with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 triumph over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro after Baez defeated Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4 in the first match of the competition. Guido Andreozzi and Maria Lourdes Carle then downed Yvonne Carvalle-Reimers and Inigo Cervantes 7-6(6), 6-2 in the mixed doubles rubber to earn Argentina a resounding 3-0 triumph.
The South American nation will next face top seeds and defending champions Team USA in their remaining Group A match.
Argentina are hoping to advance from the group-stage play for the first time in three tournament appearances, and were aided in their opening win by its second-highest and highest-ranked players in the ATP Rankings and WTA Rankings, respectively. But Sierra's grit in particular was a highlight over 2 hours and 2 minutes, as she regrouped emphatically after losing a 5-2 lead in the second set.
Sierra was two points away from a straight-sets victory twice in the second set, having 30-30 serving at 5-3, and on return at 5-4. But when all was said and done, she needed three sets to top the World No. 41 and earn her third career win over a Top 50 opponent. She lost just eight points in the third set after dropping five straight games to lose the second.
Earlier, in the first match of the 2026 ATP Tour season, World No. 45 Baez defeated Munar to give Argentina a 1-0 lead. Making his debut at the mixed teams event, the 24-year-old Baez recorded a 6-4, 6-4 win against the Spaniard in one hour and 43 minutes in the Group A tie. With the victory, he improved to 2-0 in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series.
After both players traded breaks early in the first set, Baez gained control at 4-4 by breaking Munar and serving out the set in the following game. In the second set, the Argentine showed great composure again by breaking back, immediately after losing serve, for a 4-3 lead. He saved four of the six break points he faced in the match, according to ATP Stats.
With this victory, the Argentine secured his first Top 50 win since defeating then-No. 46 Mariano Navone on his way to the title in Rio last February.
--IANS
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