Some of the ties that will kick off the United Cup on Day 1 are Italy against Brazil and Australia vs Great Britain. The match of the day sees Alex de Minaur battle Cameron Norrie for the 2nd time in their professional careers. We also predict the rest of the matches in two other articles––one featuring Stan Wawrinka vs Alexander Bublik and the other featuring Grigor Dimitrov vs Stefanos Tsitsipas. Who do you think will prevail?
United Cup Day 1 Predictions
Martina Trevisan vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Head-to-head: Haddad Maia 1-0
While Martina Trevisan might be sitting at World No. 27 in the WTA Rankings, the Italian hasn’t done much besides the brilliant three-week stretch in Rabat and at the French Open. She’s also a pretty hardcore clay-court specialist and will probably struggle to kick off her season well. Beatriz Haddad Maia won this one in Toronto (albeit in three sets) and should have an easy enough time dispatching Trevisan here.
Prediction: Haddad Maia in 2
Lorenzo Musetti vs Felipe Meligeni Alves
Head-to-head: First meeting
Felipe Meligeni Alves played just four hard-court matches in 2022 and didn’t win a set. The Brazilian should be able to play quite freely here as no one will have any expectations for him. In the past, Lorenzo Musetti used to struggle in faster conditions and you could effectively rush his groundstrokes. It seems like the talented youngster is way past that stage by now though.
Prediction: Musetti in 2
Zoe Hives vs Katie Swan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Zoe Hives used to be a pretty exciting prospect, but a string of serious injuries stopped her in her tracks. She returned to the sport last year after a three-year hiatus, but hasn’t fully resolved her issues yet and we haven’t seen her on the court since August. Taking out someone like Katie Swan in her first match back (again) might be a challenge that proves too tough for the 26-year-old.
Predictions: Swan in 2
Alex de Minaur vs Cameron Norrie
Head-to-head: de Minaur 1-0
Nick Kyrgios was originally supposed to appear for Australia, but it was announced just the day before that he won’t be joining the team. Therefore, Alex de Minaur took his spot and faces Cameron Norrie. Playing in Australia could really help the home player here as he generally performs very well in team-based competitions and tends to be extra motivated for them. He also should be able to have the upper hand in most of the rallies here.
Prediction: de Minaur in 3
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that de Minaur is competing instead of Kyrgios.
Main Photo from Getty.
