Maria Sakkari defeated Emma Raducanu 3–6, 6–3, 6–1 at Perth’s RAC Arena, clinching a 2–0 win for Greece over Great Britain and sealing the national team’s place in the quarterfinals of the United Cup as Group 5 winners.
Greece returns to the United Cup knockout stage after two years and remains unbeaten in the tournament (5–0). With top spot secured, Greece will play the mixed doubles without pressure, while Great Britain must win to advance as one of the best runners-up (3–3); a loss would eliminate them.
Greece will face Switzerland—led by Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka—on Wednesday (7 January) for a place in the semifinals.
Sakkari’s victory was historic: it was her first win over Raducanu after four straight losses since the 2021 US Open semifinals (previously 0–4 in matches, 0–8 in sets).
Reflecting on the moment, Sakkari thanked the team and supporters: “It was incredible. Thank you for staying and supporting us—it’s very late. Having the team behind me helped a lot. I’d had four tough losses to her and now I won, taking Greece through. That makes me very happy.”
She also praised Stefanos Tsitsipas, from whom she received advice on the day: “He’s amazing, with one of the best tennis IQs I’ve seen. I’m grateful to have another voice alongside Tom (Hill); he’s a fantastic player.”
On her season start, Sakkari added: “The year couldn’t have started better for me, especially after last year. Let’s see what comes next.”
Earlier, Tsitsipas put Greece 1–0 up by beating Billy Harris in a hard-fought opener, giving the team momentum heading into Sakkari’s decisive win.
The United Cup features 18 national teams split into six groups of three. Each tie includes a men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed doubles match. The six group winners and the two best runners-up advance to the quarterfinals, with the semifinals and final held in Sydney.