United Cup 2023, Day 3: Men's and women's singles predictions ft. Rafael Nadal vs Cameron Norrie, Iga Swiatek vs Yulia Putintseva & more

Sunday will mark Day 3 of the 2023 United Cup and will see Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Iga Swiatek and Cameron Norrie in action.

A total of 12 singles matches will take place, with Germany taking on the Czech Republic and Spain will be up against Great Britain. Belgium face Argentina while Croatia will lock horns with Argentina. Brazil clash with Norway while Poland take on Kazakhstan.

So without any further ado, let's take a look at how the matches on Day 3 of the United could pan out.

United Cup: Germany vs Czech Republic ft. Alexander Zverev vs Jiri Lehecka

Germany's opening tie of the tournament is against the Czech Republic, who lost 4-1 to the United States.

Alexander Zverev will play his first competitive match since the 2022 French Open against Jiri Lehecka. The German might take some time to return to his very best but is still capable of beating the Czech. However, Lehecka should not be written off as he produced some decent performances in 2022, most notably reaching the semifinals of the Rotterdam Open.

Marie Bouzkova will face Jule Niemeier in the second match of the tie. The 24-year-old produced some impressive performances in the past season, reaching the semifinals of the Guadalajara Open and the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Niemeier also made it to the last eight of the grass-court Major and the fourth round of the US Open in 2022. While the German can put up a tough fight, Bouzkova should be able to come out on top.

Prediction: Germany and Czech Republic to be tied at 1-1.

United Cup: Spain vs Great Britain ft. Rafael Nadal vs Cameron Norrie

Spain will face Great Britain in their United Cup opener. Rafael Nadal will play the first match of the tie against Cameron Norrie in what will probably be the most awaited fixture of the day.

The 36-year-old will be eager to start the 2023 season strongly after injuries affected his performances towards the end of the last season. Norrie beat three top 10 players in 2022 and produced some impressive performances.

The second match of the tie is between Nuria Parrizas Diaz and Katie Swan. Parrizas Diaz will be heavily favored to beat Swan, considering that the latter did not feature a lot on the WTA tour in 2022.

Prediction: Spain to lead 2-0.

United Cup: Belgium vs Bulgaria ft. David Goffin vs Grigor Dimitrov

Bulgaria will be eager to keep their United Cup title hopes alive when they take on Belgium in what promises to be a tightly-contested encounter.

Alison van Uytvanck will be up against World No. 381 Isabella Shinikova and will be heavily favored to beat her and put Belgium ahead. David Goffin will take on Grigor Dimitrov in what is expected to be an interesting match.

Though Goffin and Dimitrov both had some good moments in 2022, the latter will enter the match as the favorite to win. The Bulgarian's recent form has been relatively better than that of the Belgian's and he should be able to come out on top.

Prediction: Belgium and Bulgaria to be tied at 1-1.

United Cup: Croatia vs Argentina ft. Borna Coric vs Francisco Cerundolo

Croatia and Argentina will lock horns in the second tie of Group F, with Donna Vekic taking on Maria Carle. The former will be the favorite to come out on top considering the latter mostly competed on the ITF circuit during the 2022 season. Vekic should be able to win and give Croatia the lead.

Next up is Borna Coric vs Francisco Cerundolo. Coric won the ATP Comeback Player of the Year award for his performances in 2022, which included winning the Cincinnati Masters. That said, Cerundolo should not be written off as he has produced some impressive performances in the past season, most notably reaching the semifinals of the Miami Masters.

While the Argentine can put up a tough fight, Coric should be able to come out on top and double Croatia's lead.

Prediction: Croatia to lead 2-0

United Cup: Brazil vs Norway ft. Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Ulrikke Eikeri

After losing 3-2 to Italy, Brazil will be up against Norway and will need to win if they are to keep their hopes of winning the United Cup alive.

The first match of the tie is between Beatriz Haddad Maia and Ulrikke Eikeri. Haddad Maia will enter the match as the favorite to win given her higher superior ranking and form. The 26-year-old produced some impressive performances in 2022 which saw her reach the top 15 of the WTA rankings.

Eikeri is ranked 388th in the world and mostly competed in the qualifying rounds of WTA tournaments last season. The Norwegian will have to produce her A-game if she is to stand a chance against Haddad Maia.

The women's singles fixture will be followed by the men's singles match between Felipe Meligeni Alves and Viktor Durasovic. While neither player featured much during the 2022 ATP tour, Meligeni Alves (166) is ranked considerably higher than Durasovic (343) and will be the favorite to win.

Prediction: Brazil to lead 2-0

United Cup: Poland vs Kazakhstan ft. Iga Swiatek vs Yulia Putintseva

Poland will start their campaign against Kazakhstan, with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek facing Yulia Putintseva in the first match of the tie.

Swiatek had a dream of a season in 2022, winning two Grand Slams and four WTA 1000 titles. While Putintseva can make things difficult for even the best of players on her day, she will have to be at her very best if she is to put up a fight against the World No.1.

The women's singles match will be followed by the men's singles encounter between World No. 260 Daniel Michalski and 142nd-ranked Timofey Skatov. Skatov mostly competed on the ATP Challenger tour while Michalski was a regular on the ITF circuit. Skatov is expected to come out on top and level things up for his team.

Prediction: Poland and Kazakhstan to be tied at 1-1.

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