Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: Spain earned victory in its opening Group A tie of United Cup on Friday when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Sara Sorribes Tormo prevailed in the decisive mixed doubles rubber against Brazil.
With the tie locked at 1-1 after the two singles matches, Davidovich Fokina and Sorribes Tormo rallied past Beatriz Haddad Maia and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-5 to move Spain to 1-0 in Group A play.
Earlier, Haddad Maia prevailed in her first WTA Tour match of the new season, defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 7-6(1), 6-2 in their Group A clash, levelling the showdown with Spain at 1-1 and sending it into a decisive mixed doubles match.
In the first match of the tie, Fokina kick-started his season with a comfortable win, where he dispatched Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-0 to give Spain a 1-0 lead.
The 24-year-old was consistent from the baseline against the World No. 79, striking the ball cleanly off both wings to outlast the Brazilian. Fokina did not face a break point, winning 79 per cent (30/38) of his first-serve points to triumph on his United Cup debut after 87 minutes.
Each tie consists of three rubbers: one men’s singles, one women’s singles and one mixed doubles. There are 18 countries in the mixed-teams event, with six groups of three teams. Poland, led by Iga Swiatek, is also in Group A.