Stefanos Tsitsipas fired his 12th ace on match level to give Greece a 2- direct more than Bulgaria with a comeback win from Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday at the inaugural United Cup.
The earth variety four recovered effortlessly immediately after shedding the opening established to emerge with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory in his season-opening match at Perth forward of the Australian Open up.
Greek teammate Despina Papamichail, rated 158th, gave her nation the opening issue as she defeated a cramping Isabella Shinikova, also ending with a fightback to earn 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The mixed teams match capabilities 18 nations enjoying in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, with each individual tie consisting of two men’s and two women’s singles rubbers along with a mixed doubles.
Tsitsipas lifted in the ultimate-set tiebreaker against an opponent he has now defeated in six of their 7 matches.
“It was extremely close, but I’ll choose it,” he claimed. “It was a very good energy from my facet.
“It was hard playing in the heat — I’m happy they closed the roof. I experienced to dangle in there and struggle, Grigor can compete with the most effective in the world.
“But I identified a minor gap and gave myself the likelihood to do a little something in the tiebreak.”