United Cup: Seguel-Barrios Vera bests Tsitsipas-Sakkari in mixed doubles as Chile beat Greece

Chile scripted a stunning 2-1 upset of 2023 semifinalists Greece at the United Cup on Tuesday. Daniela Seguel and Tomas Barrios Vera conquered Top 10 stars Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(5), 6-3, [10-6] in mixed doubles to claim the tie. Chile is now 1-1 in Group B.

“It’s amazing, amazing. It’s our second match as a team, so we’re super happy. Thanks for the Chilean people for the support. Amazing. So it feels great, of course,” Barrios Vera was quoted as saying by Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Sakkari gave Greece the lead earlier in the day, but Nicolas Jarry held off a tough challenge from Stefanos Sakellaridis to equalise the score and force a decisive mixed doubles match.

The Chileans learned from their blunder and did not give up the 5-1 lead they had in the first-set tiebreak. “We’re trying to have fun, of course. Point by point. It’s been amazing to take the first victory as a team with Chile. We try to have fun, to be point by point and it worked,” Barrios Vera said.

Sakkari gave Greece a convincing win in their opening match of the day, defeating Seguel 6-0, 6-1. World No. 8 Sakkari, the highest-ranked Greek woman in tennis history, defeated Seguel, a former Top 200 player who is presently rated No. 671, in just 68 minutes in her season-opening match.

“I feel good, I feel very happy that I gave my team the first point. I have full belief in the team, so I’m super excited for what’s coming. We say it so many times, [Australia] is our ‘home tournament,’ it’s like playing at home. … It’s just amazing to see so many Greek flags, so many people that come out and support us. We want to stay here as long as we can, and bring the whole Greek community of Sydney out here to support us,” Sakkari said on court afterwards.

The 28-year-old Sakkari took the Greeks to their first point in Group B and has thus finished her career 4-1 in United Cup singles events. She advanced Greece to the semifinals last year by winning all three of her group-play matches.

Sakkari showed off her range of abilities in the opening set, which has helped her finish in the top 10 at the end of the last three seasons. Sakkari defeated Seguel 2-0 in a love break before launching a spectacular return winner to take the double-break lead and go up 4-0.
In the second match, Nicolas Jarry shipped the tie to a decisive mixed doubles when he overpowered the World No.416 Stefanos Sakellaridis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in a match that lasted for 2 hours and 22 minutes.

“It was an incredible match, very tough for me. Stefanos played amazing. I think he was grinding a lot, so it was a very tough opponent and I’m happy to be able to be there mentally. It’s tough. The level of the players levels up in this kind of event with all the energy, [which] is amazing. It’s super tough to beat anyone, so I’m really happy for this win,” Jarry said.