After a few weeks away, the tennis season starts afresh. The inaugural United Cup heralds a new dawn of team competition as 18 countries vie to lift the trophy in a fortnight’s time. There will be ranking points on offer, so ties will involve high-stakes matches. Day 1 is loaded with a plethora of entertaining matches. In this article, we preview and predict the ties featuring the USA against the Czech Republic and Switzerland’s clash against Kazakhstan. We also predict the rest of the matches in two other articles––one featuring Alex de Minuar vs Cameron Norrie and the other featuring Grigor Dimitrov vs Stefanos Tsitsipas. Who will score their first points?
United Cup Day 1 Predictions
Taylor Fritz vs Jiri Lehecka
Head-to-head: first meeting
Taylor Fritz is expected to be a firm favorite in this match. He was a consistent performer throughout the year and elevated his game to new heights in 2022. He arrives in Australia with a new tag–the new American No. 1 and with three more ATP titles in his trophy cabinet.
Lehecka, meanwhile, made quite a splash in 2022. He reached his first ATP semifinal in Rotterdam as a qualifier and won the Liberec Challenger on home soil in August. He put a capstone to his season by qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan where he lost the championship match to Brandon Nakashima. Fritz is clearly on a higher ceiling right now and is playing the best tennis of his life. He has set sights on Grand Slam success in 2023 and a team victory this fortnight might fuel his desire to pull off that feat. Expect Fritz to charge past the Czech youngster.
Prediction: Fritz in 2
Belinda Bencic vs Yulia Putintseva
Head-to-head: Putintseva 3-2 Bencic
Bencic is not leaving any stone unturned when representing Switzerland in team competitions. She won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2021 and was also instrumental in sealing Switzerland’s maiden Billie Jean King Cup triumph last month, winning all four of her singles rubbers. She will be expected to thrive in this environment. Her opponent, Yulia Putintseva holds a narrow lead in the head-to-head but is not on an even keel in her current form. The feisty and fiery Putintseva played dismally in the second half of the season, winning just two of her last nine matches and consequently dropping outside the world’s top 50. That sort of form is unlikely to trigger an immediate upturn in results.
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Madison Keys vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-head: Keys 1-0 Bouzkova
Some of Keys’ biggest wins have been on Australian soil. She burst out of the blocks in 2022, winning her first WTA title in three years in Adelaide, and then played a fabulous tournament at the Australian Open where she reached the last four. While the American could not reprise that form for the remainder of the season, she did enough to justify her ranking renaissance. Keys will take on the rapidly-improving Marie Bouzkova in a clash of styles.
The 24-year-old Czech produced an equally impressive campaign. She won her first WTA title in her third attempt and climbed to a career-high ranking of #24. She won’t be fazed by Keys’ power and acceleration. Bouzkova covers the court extremely well and continues to enhance her reputation as one of the fastest women on Tour. She has notched wins over the WTA’s biggest hitters including Ludmilla Samsonova, Coco Gauff, Caroline Garcia, Danielle Collins, and Karolina Pliskova. She cannot be underestimated to take down Keys.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Stan Wawrinka vs Alexander Bublik
Head-to-head: Bublik 2-0 Wawrinka
The Diriyah Cup notwithstanding, Wawrinka played just 26 matches in 2022. But wins over the likes of Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev were a clear indication the 37-year-old can still deliver at Tour level. On paper, Kazakhstan just doesn’t have the strength in depth to win this tie. So, this matchup is possibly their best chance to get points on the board. Bublik’s prominence within the Kazakh ranks has earned him a seat as the Team Captain, so he might repay them with a massive win here.
Prediction: Bublik in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
