Demon saves Aussies from United Cup boilover in strong summer ...

Australia’s hopes of reaching the United Cup finals are hanging by a thread after they were stunned 2-1 by Argentina following a straight-sets boilover in the deciding mixed doubles on Saturday night.

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The partisan Sydney crowd expected Paris gold medalist Matt Ebden and the experienced Ellen Perez to clinch the tie on the back of Alex de Minaur’s win in the singles, but they were thrashed 6-2 6-4 to leave Australia at the bottom of Group F.

The writing was on the wall when Perez whacked a forehand into her partner’s back in the first set, with the unheralded duo of Tomás Martín Etcheverry and Maria Lourdes Carle racing away to win it 6-2.

Ebden had some clutch moments in last year’s event but he was broken in the fifth game of the second set with a double fault, before the Aussies butchered three break points of their own on Carle’s serve while trailing 4-3.

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The result means Australia must beat Great Britain on January 1 and hope results go their way if they are to have any chance of advancing, with the hosts hoping history repeats after they lost their first tie last year but still topped the group.

De Minaur needs the team to make a deep run at the tournament so he doesn’t lose ATP ranking points. Currently ranked No.9 in the world, he is hoping to pass Andrey Rublev for No.8 and earn a gentler Australian Open draw in the process.

The Sydneysider is defending semi-final points, after a brilliant run where he knocked over top stars Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic to ignite his 2024 campaign.

But he is little to no chance of making the ATP top eight by the time the Australian Open seeds are determined if he does not repeat the feat.

DEMON FIRES

The ‘Demon’ looks devilishly good to start the new tennis season after Alex de Minaur kept Australia’s United Cup tie alive with a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 win over Argentina’s Tomás Martín Etcheverry.

It caps off a memorable week for de Minaur who announced his engagement to Katie Boulter ahead of what is set to be an awkward encounter in Sydney next week when Australia faces Great Britain on January 1.

“Some would say that’s the biggest win of the week,” he said after the match.

The world number nine wowed the crowd in Sydney with a five-star showing ahead of next month’s home slam.

De Minaur was simply superb against his big-hitting opponent and showed no signs of the hip injury that ended his Wimbledon campaign.

The first set was gone in a flash as the Australian star wrapped it up in just 28 minutes with an overhead smash at the net where he won all eight points when he came forward.

Etcheverry had no answers for his speedy opponent who blunted his power and dominated as the rallies got longer, with his speed and ability to work angles proving too much for a man who struggled with the pace of the hard court.

The second set was a little bit tighter but ended the same way as de Minaur continued his love affair with the tournament which he’ll hopefully use as a springboard to get past the fourth round at the Australian Open.

“I think just being back here in Sydney (helped me). I love it here,” he said after wrapping up the win in 76 minutes.

“I get to play in front of friends, family and in front of my home crowd, so what better way to start the new season?

“I’ve been putting in some great work over the pre-season. I felt comfortable with the way I was playing in tough situations this year. I learnt a lot about myself and it just gave me a whole lot of hunger for this next season.

“I want to push for bigger and better things. I’m going to work hard, put my head down and hopefully win a lot of tennis matches.”

SLOW START

Earlier, Australia’s United Cup campaign got off to a disastrous start after Olivia Gadecki was stunned in straight sets by Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska.

Australia’s highest-ranked woman was expected to win her opening match, but the world number 97 was no match for her rival who won 6-2 6-4 in 88 minutes to give her country a 1-0 lead in Sydney.

Gadecki, 22, achieved the highest ranking of her career in 2024 but her lack of big-match experience showed on Ken Rosewall Arena against a woman who made the semi-final at the French Open four years ago.

There were ominous signs as the local hope was broken in the opening game of the match, and while she was able to save three break points in the fifth game, Gadecki dropped her serve again to lose the first set in just under 40 minutes.

It looked like Podoroska would cruise through the second set when she broke to love in the third game, only for Gadecki to hit straight back as the players traded four service breaks in a row.

Gadecki then held a marathon game to make it 4-3, with the young Aussie producing two of her finest moments with a drop shot and then a sizzling backhand down the line to get the crowd going.

But an unforced error in the ninth game proved costly as Podoroska held her nerve and her serve to clinch the match.

“It’s my first match of the year so it’s always tough to start the season,” she said.

“I think I played very consistently the whole match, even when I missed some serves.”