Chile stuns Greece at United Cup

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

Chile pulled off a stunning 2-1 upset of Greece on Tuesday at the United Cup.

Tomas Barrios Vera and Daniela Seguel defeated Top 10 stars Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(5), 6-3, 10-6 to seal the tie. The South American country is now 1-1 in Group B.

"It's amazing, amazing," Barrios Vera said. "It's our second match as a team, so we're super happy. Thanks for the Chilean people for the support. Amazing. So it feels great, of course."

Earlier in the day, Sakkari gave Greece a quick lead before Nicolas Jarry survived a stern test from World No. 416 Stefanos Sakellaridis to level the tie and force a deciding mixed doubles.

After letting slip a 5/1 advantage in the first-set tie-break, the Chileans did not make the same mistake again. 

"We're trying to have fun, of course. Point by point. It's been amazing to take the first victory as a team with Chile," Barrios Vera said. "We try to have fun, to be point by point and it worked."

Jarry sent the tie to a decider Tuesday when he overcame the inspired effort of Sakellaridis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 after two hours and 22 minutes. 

Sakellaridis replaced World No. 6 Tsitsipas in the men's singles clash. All six Sydney ties this year have gone to a deciding mixed doubles match.

"It was an incredible match, very tough for me. Stefanos played amazing. I think he was grinding a lot, so it was a very tough opponent and I'm happy to be able to be there mentally," Jarry said. "It's tough. The level of the players levels up in this kind of event with all the energy, [which] is amazing. It's super tough to beat anyone, so I'm really happy for this win."

Sakellaridis earned United Cup experience last year when he went 1-2, including a win over Belgian Zizou Bergs. Against Jarry, the No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the Greek played the match of his life.

The 19-year-old showed great courage inside a packed Ken Rosewall Arena, saving 10 of the 12 break points he faced. His competitive spirit fired up the Greek fans and his own team, including Apostolos Tsitsipas, the father of Stefanos Tsitsipas and playing captain Petros Tsitsipas. 

Let's hear it for Greeeeeece 🗣#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/tSFmZqd3FK

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 2, 2024

But according to Infosys ATP Stats, Jarry won 85 per cent of his service points, which ultimately kept Sakellaridis at bay. The Chilean's net-rushing strategy of the first two sets proved successful, but he ultimately triumphed by relying on his serve and outlasting his opponent from the baseline.

"You have to be very tough mentally. I wasn't able to be that in the second set and the third set was super tight, super tough," Jarry said. "He was serving very well and moving the ball very well, so I had to stay calm, it was difficult. It's a great match for me personally to get the win here."

Sakkari earned a commanding victory for Greece in the country’s opening match of the 2024 United Cup, defeating Chile’s Daniela Seguel 6-0, 6-1 at the mixed-teams event on Tuesday in Sydney. 

In her first match of the season, World No. 8 Sakkari, the highest-ranked Greek woman in history, took just 68 minutes to ease past Seguel, a former Top 200 player currently ranked No.671.

“I feel good,” Sakkari said. “I feel very happy that I gave my team the first point, and I have full belief in the team, so I’m super excited for what’s coming.”

She added: “We say it so many times, it [Australia] is our ‘home tournament,’ it’s like playing at home. There’s so many Greeks, you walk down the street in any city in Australia, you have to be careful with what you say! It’s just amazing to see so many Greek flags, so many people that come out and support us. We want to stay here as long as we can, and bring the whole Greek community of Sydney out here to support us.”  

After clinching the Greeks’ first point in Group B, 28-year-old Sakkari is now 4-1 in United Cup singles matches in her career. She won all three of her group-play matches last year during Greece’s run to the semi-finals.

THE perfect start 💪@mariasakkari cruises past Seguel for Team Greece to take the lead!#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/7QnWvZbKI1

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 2, 2024

In the first set, Sakkari demonstrated the variety of skills that have led her to a year-end Top 10 ranking in each of the past three seasons. Sakkari out-rallied Seguel in a love break for 2-0, then powered to the double-break advantage by cranking a stunning return winner to reach 4-0. 

Sakkari closed out the opener with another love break, as she finished the first set three-for-three on break points while never facing a break point on her own serve. Seguel won only one of her 11 first-serve points in the opener.

Seguel, who was facing a Top 20 player for the first time in her career at the age of 31, was able to get on the scoreboard with a gritty hold for 1-1 in the second set. But the Chilean saw a 40/0 lead slip away as Sakkari broke serve in a grueling game for a 3-1 lead. 

Sakkari did not face a break point until the very last game of the match. The Greek successfully erased that chance, and she prevailed in a lengthy rally on her second match point to close out the routine win.