Ajla Tomljanovic and Alex de Minaur will look to rebound from singles defeats to Great Britain when Australia meets Team USA at RAC Arena.
Perth, Australia, 31 December 2023 | Dan Imhoff
Ajla Tomljanovic and Alex de Minaur will look to turn their respective singles fortunes when Australia bids to keep its United Cup campaign alive against Team USA on Monday night.
Top-10 Americans Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz guided their nation to success in the inaugural competition in 2023 and eked out a 2-1 victory over Great Britain on Sunday.
They present a sizeable challenge after the Australians dropped both singles matches in a 2-1 defeat to Great Britain on Friday night.
After denying the Brits in the mixed doubles, West Australians Storm Hunter and Matt Ebden require their singles counterparts to secure at least one of their showdowns to give them a chance at closing it out and keeping their team in the hunt for the quarterfinals.
Having missed most of last season due to a knee injury, Tomljanovic found positives in her loss to Katie Boulter at RAC Arena on Friday and was determined to return to the practice court comfortable in the knowledge she had competed pain-free.
“I think last time we played, Jess was a very different player,” said Tomljanovic, whose two wins against the American came more than 12 years ago.
“She’s been pretty much at the top of the game now for the last five years. She’s a very tough player and I think playing someone that high of a quality in two days will help me get there quicker because you’re forced to.
“Your back’s against the wall when you play against quality players like that. There’s no room for error and I think it’s good for me. I’m excited.”
> READ: De Minaur, Tomljanovic fall short in United Cup opener
The 29-year-old Pegula – who lost her opening singles match on Sunday to Boulter – was the world No.3 this time last year when she went unbeaten in Team USA’s United Cup triumph.
It was a far cry from Tomljanovic’s predicament after she missed the entire Australian summer.
“Obviously she had all that momentum after beating Serena (at US Open 2022) and having a great year, and then to see her get sidelined by injury again is always tough,” Pegula said.
“She lives in Florida pretty close to me. Yeah, we actually were supposed to practise a few weeks ago before she came here but we got rained out so it didn’t happen.
“It’s nice to see her back…
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