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Team USA won the inaugural edition of the United Cup by beating Italy 3-0 in the final. Jessica Pegula, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz won their respective matches to guide the United States to victory in Sydney.
The Americans entered the United Cup as heavy favorites to win it and produced dominant performances to beat the Czech Republic 4-1 and Germany 5-0, thus topping their group.
They then booked their place in the semifinals with a 4-1 win over Great Britain. Here, they thrashed Poland 5-0 to seal a spot in the final against Italy.
The first match of the final was between Jessica Pegula and Martina Trevisan, the highest-ranked female players from each country. The opening set was tightly contested and both players exchanged a couple of breaks with the scores tied at 4-4. Pegula then held her serve before breaking Trevisan to take the first set 6-4.
The World No. 3 dominated the second set and cruised to a 5-0 lead. While Trevisan showed some resistance as she won the next two games, Pegula was not to be denied and eventually went on to win the second set 6-2 to give Team USA a 1-0 lead.
Next up was Frances Tiafoe against Lorenzo Musetti. Tiafoe won the opening set 6-2 and looked on course for a win before a shoulder injury forced Musetti to retire, giving his opponent victory and Team USA a 2-0 lead.
The third match of the final was perhaps the most-awaited one as Taylor Fritz locked horns with Matteo Berrettini. Both players were strong in their respective service games and the two sets were decided by tiebreaks. Fritz edged out Berrettini 7-6(4), 7-6(6) to seal Team USA's United Cup win.
Italy will try to salvage some pride in the remaining two fixtures of the final as Lucia Bronzetti takes on Madison Keys before the mixed doubles match.
What's next for the Team USA players after United Cup triumph?
Team USA's top players will look to compete in the Australian Open following their victory at the inaugural United Cup. Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys were both scheduled to take part in the Adelaide International 2 but withdrew from the tournament.
Neither Taylor Fritz nor Frances Tiafoe will be involved in the Adelaide International 2 or the ATP ASB Classic and both are set to return to action at the Australian Open.
Among other players in the United States squad, Denis Kudla and Alycia Parks will both take part in the Asia-Pacific Major's qualifiers while Desirae Krawczyk will compete in the women's doubles event of the Adelaide International 2, partnering Demi Schuurs.
