Coco Gauff set a milestone ahead of the Australian Open by defeating Iga Swiatek for the second time in a row, giving the United States a 1-0 lead in the FA Cup final against Poland.
Gauff followed up her win over Swiatek in the WTA Finals in Riyadh last November, with a 6-4, 6-4 win in Sydney on Sunday ahead of the men's Taylor Fritz vs. Hubert Hurkacz match.
The world No. 3 said after his victory over the world No. 2: “I have faith that I am one of the best players in the world and when I play good tennis it is difficult to beat me.
Swiatek committed 19 unforced errors in the first set
Gauff led 2-0 in the first set before she tied against Swiatek and trailed 3-2, but she took advantage of 19 unforced errors by the Polish player to win four of the next five games.
Gauff double-faulted to lose his serve in the second set, but regained his opponent's serve at the end of a ten-minute game with a forehand pass to tie the score at 4-4.
She then broke Swiatek again to win the match after her opponent took a medical break to take her singles record at this year's United Cup to 5-0, following previous victories over Leyla Fernandez, Donna Vekic, Zhang Shuai and Karolina Muchova.
The Australian Open begins on January 12, and Gauff and Swiatek are looking forward to winning it for the first time.
Their best results to date are a semi-final – Swiatek in 2022 before losing to Danielle Collins and Gauff last year when she fell to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka prepared to defend her title by winning the Brisbane International Championship after coming from a set down to beat world number 107 Polina Kudermetova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
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