Czechia and Australia are tied at 1-1 in a crucial United Cup tie after Barbora Krejcikova and Alex de Minaur both won their singles matches in Sydney on Tuesday.
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The two-time Grand Slam champion Krejcikova continued her strong start to the 2026 season with a comprehensive straight sets victory over Australia’s Maya Joint to give her country the early 1-0 lead.
The 30-year-old is ranked No. 63 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz after missing the first five months of the 2025 season. She jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Australian No. 1 Joint, who had missed her country’s opening tie of the competition due to illness. Although Joint narrowed the gap to 4-3, Krejcikova held firm to close out the opening set 6-4.
In the second set, Krejcikova — who defeated Norway’s Malene Helgo in straight sets in Czechia’s first tie of the tournament — again raced to an early lead, winning the first four games before sealing the 6-4, 6-1 win in 1 hour, 15 minutes.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” Krejcikova said. “I’m happy with the way I played from beginning to end. I had great support as well. It was a little up and down in the first set, but I’m happy to come through. I was trying to be aggressive from the start, and it’s nice to have some matches under my belt. I felt a little better on the court today.”
In the second singles, Alex de Minaur delivered a composed performance in a lively Ken Rosewall Arena atmosphere to defeat Jakub Mensik 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour, 31 minutes and level the tie at 1-1.
“I didn’t start the year the way I wanted to,” said De Minaur, who fell to Casper Ruud in his first group match. “But something I’ve done really well in my career is bouncing back, so I’m happy I bounced back today.”
Mensik produced moments of flair early in the second set, highlighted by an audacious front-facing tweener volley set up by a booming first serve. But De Minaur remained relentless, saving all four break points he faced and improving his record to 5-0 against the Czech in their head-to-head series.
The tie will be decided by the mixed doubles rubber. With both Czechia and Australia having won their opening ties, the winner will advance to the next round from Group D, while the loser will need to wait to see if it qualifies as one of the best second-placed teams from Sydney.