Two months after the inaugural United Cup, the mixed-gender crew occasion gained by the United States in January, the ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour once more joined forces on the courtroom Tuesday evening in Indian Wells. On the eve of main-draw play on the BNP Paribas Open, stars from each circuits thrilled the desert crowd within the third annual Eisenhower Cup, a blended doubles exhibition that doubles as a fundraiser for native charities.
The one-night match was gained by Taylor Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated the Polish pairing of Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek 10-8 within the ultimate. Fritz, who hit an ace with a trick serve within the semi-finals, fired a service winner on championship level.
“It’s awesome just to have the chance to come out here and play in front of the crowd before [the tournament] even gets going,” mentioned Fritz, the defending Indian Wells males’s singles champ. “The crowd here tonight is amazing. It’s one of the many reasons I love coming here. It’s one of my favourite events, it being such a home tournament for me.”
Fritz, who helped lead Team USA to United Cup glory in January, additionally gained the Delray Beach singles title in February and broke into the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the primary time final week. He will open his Indian Wells title defence in opposition to Ben Shelton or Fabio Fognini.
“We said before the night started that we really wanted to come out and win,” added the Netflix Break Point star. “We played really well against a lot of really good teams.”
NO WAY!!! 😱@Taylorfritz97 pulls out the reverse serve! #TieBreakTens pic.twitter.com/qoxDxmBUBK
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 8, 2023
Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open singles champion, is not any stranger to doubles success. The former doubles World No. 1 is a two-time Grand Slam winner within the self-discipline with associate Elise Mertens, having lifted the trophies on the 2019 US Open and 2021 Aussie Open. The pair additionally gained the 2019 Indian Wells crown.
“I feel good,” mentioned Sabalenka, who will face Alize Cornet or Evgeniya Rodina in her opening singles match. “I’m really happy to be here and really looking forward to the first match.”
Photo credit score: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Also competing in Tuesday evening’s exhibition occasion have been: Paula Badosa and Cameron Norrie, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, Ons Jabeur and Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul and Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka.
In addition, Fritz and Paul are set to crew up within the Indian Wells males’s doubles occasion, with Auger-Aliassime (with Denis Shapovalov), Ruud (with Dominic Thiem) and Wawrinka (with Frances Tiafoe) additionally competing.
Felix/Shapo Face Rune/Shelton In Loaded Indian Wells Doubles Draw
The girls’s doubles draw has not but been launched.
Source web site: www.atptour.com
