Italy proved too strong for Switzerland in their opening United Cup Group D round robin tie in Sydney on Sunday, winning both the singles and the mixed doubles rubbers to seal an emphatic win, 3-0.
I think I played a really good match. It’s great to have Belinda back on tour. She’s an amazing player, she beat me many times. Maybe even in juniors, so maybe more than twice. Today everything worked really well. I was serving well, I was returning very well. I think that was the key. Jasmine Paolini
Rising Italian star Flavio Cobolli overcame Dominic Stricker, 6-3 7-6(2), in the opening match of the tie, and the Swiss needed Belinda Bencic, the former World No 4, to step up and force a deciding mixed doubles match against Jasmine Paolini, the two-time Grand Slam finalist.
Paolini, the current World No 4, though, annihilated the Swiss, 6-1 6-1, to seal Italy’s victory over Switzerland, leading her nation to their first triumph at the United Cup.
Going for the clean sweep, Italy’s Sara Errani & Andrea Vavasorri then defeated Bencic & Stricker, 6-4 6-4, in the mixed.
Flavio Cobolli got Italy off to a good start by beating Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker in the opening men’s singles rubber in Sydney on Sunday
© Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
Just over a year ago, Cobolli had defeated Stricker in the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, and, on Sunday, the Italian was victorious against the Swiss again in the opening singles match on Day 3.
This time, though, the win was for his country as Cobolli gave Italy a 1-0 lead against Switzerland.
“Of course I think I played a really good match,” Cobolli said. “It’s always a great thing to play with the flag of Italy on the heart, with some friends on the bench, with my dad on the bench.
“It’s always fun and I did great things today for us.”
It was a breakthrough 2024 for Cobolli, who climbed to a career-high No 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings in September.
The 22-year-old showed his strength and resolve inside Ken Rosewall Arena, saving all 5 break points, and although Stricker did well to fight back in the second set, much like he did on Saturday against France’s Ugo Humbert, Cobolli’s consistent level proved too high, and the Swiss went down in 90 minutes.
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic could only must a couple of games and was completely outclassed by Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in their singles contest on Day 3 of the United Cup
© Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images
In the women’s singles that followed, Paolini offered no chances to Bencic, breaking the 2019 US Open semi-finalist a stunning 7 times to win in just 58 minutes of play.
Since kicking off her post-pregnancy return in late 2024, Bencic has recorded some solid results in the lower tier of the women’s tour, and also defeated France’s Chloe Paquet in her first match at the United Cup, but Paolini proved her biggest test yet, and it was evident that the 27-year-old Swiss is still far from her best.
Paolini showed no signs of rust or wear against Bencic, playing her first match since leading Italy to the Billie Jean King Cup title in November.
The former Swiss Olympic champion came into the contest holding a 2-0 career record over Paolini, but that was before the Italian’s surge into the Top 10 last year, and her improved level was evident from the get-go as the 2024 Wimbledon runner-up was quick out the blocks with back-to-back breaks to establish an early 4-0 lead.
In fact, Paolini won the first 8 points of the match by dominating with her power game from the baseline, and never looked back, while Bencic was serving at just 39% in the first set, allowing the Italian to take immediate control of the rallies, breaking the Swiss in each of her 3 service games.
While Bencic clawed one break back in the 5th game to get herself on the board, it didn’t alter the outcome and the Italian quickly earned another before closing out the opener on her own serve.
The second set started in similar fashion, with Paolini collecting 2 consecutive breaks to go 3-0 up.
Down by a set and a double break, Bencic again got a break back to cut the deficit to 3-1, but that was all the current World No 487 could muster, who promptly lost her serve in back-to-back games, and ended up losing with just 2 games to her credit.
“I think I played a really good match,” Paolini said on court. “It’s great to have Belinda back on tour. She’s an amazing player, she beat me many times. Maybe even in juniors, so maybe more than twice.
“Today everything worked really well. I was serving well, I was returning very well. I think that was the key.”
Paolini’s dominant performance gave Italy an unassailable 2-0 lead, and dropped the Swiss squad to 1-1 in Group D with the mixed still to play.
In the mixed that followed, Errani & Vavasorri edged the first set, and broke to move ahead 4-0 in the second, leaving Bencic & Stricker trying to catch up to no avail, and the Italians prevailed in straight sets after 78 minutes.
With the 3-0 victory, Italy can now finish at the top of Group D to secure a spot in the quarter-finals with a win over France on Tuesday, who lost their opener to Switzerland on Saturday, 1-2.
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini (L) took selfies with teammates Flavio Cobolli (2nd L), Andrea Vavassori, Matteo Gigante (3rd R)), Angelica Moratelli (2nd R) and Sara Errani during a surfing session on the sidelines of the United Cup in Sydney on Saturday
© Speed Khan/AFP via Getty Images