Iga Swiatek avenged an early-season loss to Jessica Pegula as she stormed to the Qatar Open title on Saturday, completing a stunning trophy defence.

In three matches, Swiatek surrendered only five games, sealing the title with a 6-3 6-0 victory over American Pegula.

A heavy defeat to Pegula in Sydney at the beginning of the year saw Swiatek reduced to tears, and she then lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, albeit to eventual finalist Elena Rybakina.

Now Swiatek is back, with brutal wins over Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova – allowing both players just one game each – preceding her dismissal of Pegula in the final.

The 21-year-old has 12 career titles and is off the mark in 2023, extending her head-to-head dominance to 5-2 over world number four Pegula.

Swiatek said: "I don't care how many games are won or lost. I just feel like I really found my rhythm here, and after a tough beginning of the season I could stay focused from the beginning to the end of the matches, and I'm pretty happy with my performance.

"I hope playing well here is going to be a routine."

The world number one sent a message of support during her on-court speech to the people of war-torn Ukraine, for whom she has helped to raise funds over the last 12 months.

Swiatek, from Poland, said she felt "a real throwback to last year", when this event was taking place as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

"This was the first tournament where I had a chance to make a speech when the war started in Ukraine," she said. "I feel like we all have pretty short memories, but we should all support Ukrainians with everything they're coping with every day.

"It's pretty disappointing the situation is not changing, but hopefully they will stay strong."

Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula will clash in a WTA Tour final for the first time after taking wildly contrasting routes through to the Qatar Open title match.

While Pegula was taken to three sets by Maria Sakkari on Friday, world number one and defending champion Swiatek required only 56 minutes to score a 6-0 6-1 drubbing of Veronika Kudermetova.

In windy conditions in Doha, the top two seeds set up a Saturday showdown that will have plenty riding on it in terms of their rivalry.

When Swiatek lost to Pegula in early January at the United Cup in Sydney, winning only four games, the Pole was left in tears.

The rematch will either see Swiatek reassert her dominance over Pegula, or see the American show she has the 21-year-old's number for now.

Swiatek won all four matches she played against Pegula last season, with French Open and US Open quarter-finals victories among that set, but their last match has put a fresh spin on the head-to-head.

Crushing Kudermetova showed Swiatek at her ruthless best, and the world number one said: "I feel great. I was pretty worried how I was going to cope with the conditions today so I'm glad I played a smart way and I'm pretty happy I was so solid."

She is relishing the chance to test herself against Pegula again, saying: "It always takes a lot to win against Jessie. She's a great player, a really solid one, and we'll see, honestly. I'm not going to predict anything or over-analyse, I'll just play my best tennis."

Pegula overcame Greek fifth seed Sakkari 6-2 4-6 6-1 in the first semi-final.

While Swiatek will be chasing a 12th WTA-level singles title, the 28-year-old Pegula is after a third such trophy.

Speaking of the Sakkari match, Pegula said: "That was probably the hardest conditions I've ever had to play in, wind-wise. I played very smart."

Iga Swiatek will play Veronika Kudermetova in the Qatar Open semi-finals after the Russian defeated Coco Gauff in the last eight.

World number one Swiatek was already assured of her semi-final place heading into Thursday as Belinda Bencic's withdrawal had granted her a walkover.

She could watch on then as Kudermetova upset fourth seed Gauff 6-3 3-6 6-1 in Doha.

Swiatek has won each of her previous two matches against Kudermetova in straight sets, but the world number 11 will be on a high after her first top-10 win of the season.

It will be the 25-year-old's second semi of the season, although she withdrew from her Adelaide 2 match-up against Bencic.

While Gauff is out, there remains American representation as her doubles partner Jessica Pegula made light work of Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3 6-2.

Pegula, the second seed, will face Greece's Maria Sakkari, who overcame third favourite Carolina Garcia 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) in a battling encounter.

Iga Swiatek started the defence of her Qatar Open title by taking less than an hour to beat Danielle Collins on Wednesday.

Playing for the first time since she was knocked out of the Australian Open by Elena Rybakina in the fourth round last month, normal service was resumed by the domineering world number one in Doha.

The top seed brushed Collins aside in only 53 minutes, racing to a 6-0 6-1 victory to march into the third round.

Collins only won four points as she suffered the misery of a first-set bagel, an inspired Swiatek taking the opener in only 21 minutes.

Swiatek's run of games won was ended at nine when Collins got on the board at 3-1, but the Pole broke for a fifth time before serving it out for an emphatic victory.

The 21-year-old three-time grand slam champion, who made only six unforced errors, will do battle with Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals.

Bencic beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to take her place in the last 16, storming back from 4-1 down in the second set when she appeared to be on her way out.

Second seed Jessica Pegula saved two match puts as she dug deep to beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 2-6 7-5 to set up a meeting with Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.

Fourth seed Coco Gauff got the better of Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-6 (8-6), while Veronika Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari also made it through.

Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim Pegula is recovering from suffering a cardiac arrest last June, but "where she ends up is still unknown".

American tennis star Jessica Pegula, the world number four, provided an update on her mother's condition in a long Players' Tribune article on Tuesday.

The five-time grand slam singles quarter-finalist revealed her sister, Kelly, saved their 53-year-old's mother live by giving her CPR after their father woke up to her going into cardiac arrest nine months ago.

Kim, co-owner and president of both NFL franchise the Bills and NHL team the Buffalo Sabres, is back at home and doctors are "blown away" by her "miracle" recovery.

She is, however, suffering from significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues and the family have come to the realisation that she is unlikely to resume her roles with the Bills and Sabres.

Jessica revealed that three months before her mother fell ill, her sister had decided to learn CPR.

She wrote: "Kelly called me one day and said she was going to get her CPR certification as a requirement for a job she wanted. I said: 'No way, I have been meaning to do that but haven't gotten around to it.”

"She relayed to me how nervous she was about it and hoped she passed the class. I remember her telling us what she was doing in our family group chat, and my mom even responded: 'Nice Kells! Now if we have a heart attack, you can revive us.'"

She added: "Today, my mom is still in recovery, and although it is the same answer every time someone asks me, it is true, she is improving every day. She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues.

"She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond. It is hard to deal with and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her at all. The doctors continue to be blown away by her recovery, considering where she started, and her determination is the driving force of that."

Jessica was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open last month, having been considering whether she should call time on her career.

She stated: "Suddenly, I went from 'Let's celebrate top 10 in the world' to 'Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought?' 'Does my dad and family need help?' 'Maybe I should just go back to school and work for the family.'

"I am 28 and I take pride in being able to handle every situation thrown at me, but this was A LOT."

She was also hit hard by seeing Damar Hamlin collapse on the field while playing for the Bills last month.

"Then in January we came to some bizarre, messed-up, full circle moment." she wrote. "Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during the Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. My stomach sunk because it felt like the exact same thing all over again."

Last year's French Open women's doubles runner-up continued: "It has been a tough year, but at the same time I feel lucky and blessed. I am thankful she is still with us when other families may not have been so lucky.

"That she even had a chance at recovery when the first week in the hospital seemed so dim. Thankful for the doctors that aided in her recovery. Thankful that she is now home, that she gets to watch the Bills, Sabres and my tennis matches. She never watched my matches before, because she got too nervous. Now she watches all of them.

"Thank you to the Buffalo community for your patience. I know you have wanted answers and it took us a while to get there, but it finally felt like it was time. Thank you to everyone who has respected privacy and shown me and my family tremendous support throughout this ongoing journey."

Victoria Azarenka is through to her first Australian Open semi-final in a decade after beating Jessica Pegula in straights sets.

Azarenka had not reached the last four at Melbourne Park since going on to retain her title in 2013, but ended that wait with an impressive 6-4 6-1 victory over the third seed on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old from Belarus will do battle with Elena Rybakina for a place in the final following a commanding display on Rod Laver Arena.

Azarenka, the 24th seed, stormed into a 3-0 lead and although Pegula got back on serve at 5-3, she was a set down after being broken for a second time.

The experienced Azarenka clinically grasped her first break-point opportunity of the second set but Pegula hit straight back with a break of her own in the next game.

She was unable to turn the tide, though, as an inspired Azarenka dominated the remainder of the set with another two breaks and losing only a further two points behind her serve.

Azarenka, a winner of two mixed doubles grand slam titles since her last major triumph at this tournament 10 years ago, wrapped up the victory in an hour and 37 minutes.

Azarenka moves level with Graf

This quarter-final win for the former world number one took her tally of main-draw victories at the Australian Open to 47.

She is now level with the great Steffi Graf in sixth place on the list of the most women’s singles main-draw triumphs in this tournament in the Open Era.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Azarenka – 0/2
Pegula – 3/2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Azarenka– 17/20
Pegula– 19/31

BREAK POINTS WON

Azarenka – 5/13
Pegula – 2/4

Jessica Pegula has been wearing a number three on her outfit at the Australian Open, and she confirmed it is to show support to Damar Hamlin.

Buffalo Bills safety Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2 and spent over a week in hospital, much of that time in critical condition.

Pegula's parents own the NFL franchise as well as the Buffalo Sabres NHL team, and during her second-round win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Melbourne, was seen with a number three on her skirt, which is Hamlin's number and became a symbol of appreciation from well-wishers during his recovery.

"I definitely wanted to do something," Pegula said after her 6-2 7-6 (7-5) victory over Sasnovich. "We were kind of figuring out what the Bills and the Sabres were doing, just as far as what was the message.

"I knew they would probably do something and what message were they trying to send. It ended up being [that] the three was the symbol.

“I just thought it would be cool to put on my outfit here. I thought it would be a fun way to kind of connect with the team and then also just show my support."

There had been speculation that the number was related to her ranking, with the 28-year-old coincidentally the WTA world number three heading into the Australian Open, where she is the third seed, but Pegula laughed off the suggestion.

"I saw someone tweet that: 'Why would you put your ranking on your skirt?'. I'm, like, 'No, that’s not why,'" she said with amusement.

Pegula will play the winner of Olivia Gadecki and Marta Kostyuk in round three at Melbourne Park.

Iga Swiatek starts the Australian Open as almost as strong a favourite to win the women's singles as Novak Djokovic is for the men's event.

Considering Djokovic is a nine-time champion in Melbourne, and Swiatek has never reached the final, that is some going and indicative of the Polish player's dominance on the WTA Tour over the last 11 months.

Swiatek ended last year with eight titles to her name, winning the French Open and US Open among them, and the 21-year-old has accrued more than twice as many ranking points as the next player on the WTA list, Ons Jabeur.

Her ascent to become the dominant woman in tennis has been remarkable, and Swiatek has also earned admiration for her efforts to raise funds for children in war-hit Ukraine.

But is she such an outstanding favourite for the Melbourne Park title as the odds-makers have it?

Since the US Open, she has been a champion at just one – modest by her standards – of the four tournaments she has contested, including the United Cup team event.

Here, Stats Perform looks at five others who might have a say in the destination of the year's first major.

Jessica Pegula

Swiatek was reduced to tears after a 6-2 6-2 drubbing by Pegula on January 6 at the United Cup, her first loss of the year.

She later described Pegula's performance as "the perfect match", and will hope the American cannot always rise to that level.

"It's always hard when you lose, especially when you're playing for the team and your country," Swiatek said at the time, explaining her post-match tears.

Swiatek had won all four of the matches they contested in 2022, dropping only one set, with quarter-final wins on the way to her two grand slam triumphs included in that set.

The result in Sydney, therefore, might have been just a blip, but Pegula is number three in the world for a reason, and Swiatek will surely want to avoid her over the coming fortnight.

Coco Gauff

Is now Gauff's time? There's a question that has been buzzing around the tennis circuit for at least a couple of seasons, despite the American being just 18 years old.

Time, it should be clear, is firmly on her side. She soared to fourth in the rankings in October but has slipped a little since, while remaining firmly established in the top 10.

Given her great talent, Gauff should be resident in the top 10 for many years to come, so we can afford to wait before watching her fly. The sometimes-erratic forehand remains in need of fine-tuning, and Gauff began this year with just two career singles titles to her name after missing out on a trophy in the 2022 season.

However, she reached a first grand slam final last June, losing to Swiatek in Paris, and began 2023 by capturing a title in Auckland where, as top seed, she made light work of the field.

The victory made her the sixth American player to secure three or more WTA-level titles before turning 19 in the last 40 years, after slam winners Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams.

That is some company for Gauff, who will face Katerina Siniakova in the first rout in Melbourne, to be keeping, and her time will come. It might even come in Melbourne.

Ons Jabeur

After finishing runner-up to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Swiatek at the US Open, Jabeur is targeting a third successive slam final.

The Tunisian would win most popularity contests on the Tour, but she wants one of the big trophies now, and has to be seen as a strong contender in Australia.

Her preparations took a knock with a loss to 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova at Adelaide International 1, but that will only have made Jabeur work harder in the build-up to the major.

She was gutted to have to pull out of the Australian Open with a back injury last year, and a first-round loss at the French Open followed, but Jabeur came good at the next two majors, albeit falling at the final hurdle.

Aryna Sabalenka

At this time last year, Sabalenka was in crisis, her serve a massive weakness as she struggled to deliver the ball safely.

She recovered from going a set down in three consecutive matches at the Australian Open before losing a rollicking tussle in round four with Estonian veteran and upset specialist Kaia Kanepi.

Sabalenka served a wretched 15 double faults in that match, which was sadly more or less par for her in the early stages of the 2022 season, but the Belarusian got her act together, overcome those yips, and finished the year strongly.

A semi-final run at the US Open was followed by an appearance in the WTA Finals title match, where she lost a close encounter with Caroline Garcia.

Sabalenka began this year not with the serving jitters, but with the Adelaide International 1 title, not dropping a set all week.

She has a big game and with it growing confidence. At the age of 24, she should be entering her prime years, and 2023 could be a special 12 months for the woman with the tiger tattoo.

Zheng Qinwen

The WTA's 2022 Newcomer of the Year winner, Zheng is a 20-year-old Chinese player who could soon follow in the footsteps of compatriot Li Na and begin scooping the biggest prizes in tennis.

How soon? Well, probably not quite yet, but then again very few picked out the then 54th-ranked Swiatek to win the 2020 French Open, the moment that launched her to stardom.

Zheng has rocketed to 30th in the rankings, having begun last year at 126th on the WTA list, and should be considered capable of halving her ranking over this season.

She first came to major prominence at the French Open, when she defeated Simona Halep and for a while also had Swiatek's number in their fourth-round match, winning the first set before menstrual cramps and a leg problem caused her to lose momentum.

The WTA Tour is a learning curve and slam-level success might not come immediately for Zheng, but that newcomer award came her way because she is a player shaping up to have a big say in the sport's future. Along with the likes of Gauff and Swiatek, she could still be a big factor in a decade's time.

Nine-time champion Novak Djokovic will make his return to the Australian Open against Spain's world number 75 Roberto Carballes Baena.

After being deported from Australia last year amid a row over his refusal of a COVID-19 vaccination, Djokovic is firmly back in favour and chasing history in Melbourne, with a record-equalling 22nd men's singles grand slam in his sights.

He begins against an opponent who in four previous main draw appearances has only ever won one singles match at Melbourne Park.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal, whose 22 slam titles Djokovic is seeking to match, has a tricky opener against rising British star Jack Draper, the world number 40.

Second seed Casper Ruud will tackle Czech Tomas Machac first up, with the 115th-ranked player unlikely to prove too daunting an obstacle for last season's French Open and US Open runner-up.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev could face an awkward assignment against wildcard and former US Open winner Dominic Thiem, while Australia's Nick Kyrgios begins against Russian Roman Safiullin.

Neither 13th seed Matteo Berrettini nor five-time runner-up Andy Murray would have been delighted to be paired together, but that is what happened in Thursday's draw.

In the women's singles, top seed Iga Swiatek starts her bid for a first Australian Open title against Germany's Jule Niemeier, who caught the eye last year on a run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

American seventh seed Coco Gauff starts against Czech Katerina Siniakova, while Jessica Pegula, Gauff's third-seeded compatriot who recently beat Swiatek in the United Cup, will face Belgian Jaqueline Cristian.

Gauff could face former US Open winner Emma Raducanu in the second round. Unseeded Briton Raducanu starts against Germany's Tamara Korpatsch.

Former champions Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka go head to head in the first round, with American Kenin unseeded this year and Belarusian Azarenka the 24th seed.

Azarenka's compatriot Aryna Sabalenka is fancied to do well, having banished last year's serving yips, and the fifth seed starts against Czech Tereza Martincova.

Tunisian second seed Ons Jabeur, runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open, begins her latest quest for an elusive grand slam title against Slovenian world number 88 Tamara Zidansek.

Former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu is unseeded in Australia and Czech 25th seed Marie Bouzkova drew a possible short straw by getting the Canadian in round one.

Taylor Fritz claimed the deciding victory as the United States stormed into an unassailable 3-0 lead over Italy in the United Cup final.

Jessica Pegula and Frances Tiafoe paved the way for Fritz to be the hero with their victories over Martina Trevisan and Lorenzo Musetti earlier in Sunday's final in Sydney.

While Musetti retired hurt while trailing 6-2, WTA world number three Pegula dispatched Trevisan in straight sets, carrying on the form that saw her defeat Iga Swiatek in the USA's semi-final win over Poland.

And Fritz ensured that the inaugural United Cup went his nation's way with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-6) win over Matteo Berrettini, who clawed back the first championship point but was unable to prevent his opponent taking the second.

"It's great. It’s amazing for the team to win this event. We came in with really high hopes, or at least I did, for the event," said Fritz, who is ranked ninth in the world by the ATP after winning three titles in 2022.

"I was really happy to be in that position to clinch the match."

There were jubilant scenes as the USA team rushed to celebrate with Fritz, though Tiafoe was perhaps slightly overzealous.

"Just the emotions when you win and everyone comes running at you, it’s amazing," Fritz said. "I don’t know if you saw the replay but Frances basically headbutted me!"

Iga Swiatek was in tears after losing to Jessica Pegula as the United States took a 2-0 United Cup semi-final lead over Poland, while Italy moved into command against Greece on Friday.

World number one Swiatek was beaten 6-2 6-2 by the impressive Pegula in just 71 minutes at Ken Rosewall Arena.

Swiatek got the better of Pegula three times last year, but the American made light work of seeing off the three-time grand slam champion this time around to put USA in front.

Pegula struck 21 winners, attacking the Swiatek serve in a commanding display just over a week before the Australian Open gets under way.

Swiatek's emotions came out after she was emphatically defeated by the world number three in Sydney.

Pegula said: "I played her today, conditions are totally different than anywhere else I played her. Obviously maybe I had a little bit of an advantage, they just flew in yesterday.

"Definitely the fastest conditions I have played her [in]. Every other place I've played her has been pretty slow. I think that favoured me a lot, and I was able to use that to my advantage and play a really super clean match.

"I think I just was able to execute my game plan probably better than I have previous times."

Frances Tiafoe backed up Pegula's win by beating Kacper Zuk, who replaced the unwell Daniel Michalski, 6-3 6-3.

That ensures Taylor Fritz has a chance to put the United States into the final if he beats Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday.

Italy are in control of the other semi-final following victories for Martina Trevisan and Lorenzo Musetti.

Trevisan upset Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 before Musetti outclassed Stefanos Sakellaridis, winning 6-1 6-1.

Iga Swiatek dragged Poland into the semi-finals of the United Cup with inspired performances in her singles and doubles matches against Italy.

Poland trailed after Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Berrettini secured wins against Daniel Michalski and Hubert Hurkacz respectively, only for Swiatek and Magda Linette to level things with respective singles victories over Martina Trevisan and Lucia Bronzetti.

That sent the Brisbane city final to a decider in the mixed doubles, which Swiatek and Hurkacz won with ease 6-1 6-2 against Musetti and Camilla Rosatello, though there was a pause in the second set to dry rainfall on the court.

Despite defeat, Italy also advanced to the final four as the city finals loser with the best record.

It was more routine in Sydney as the United States eased to a 4-1 win against Great Britain.

Madison Keys came from a set down to beat Katie Swan, while Jessica Pegula eased past Harriet Dart 6-2 6-0 after Cameron Norrie had defeated Taylor Fritz in three sets.

Despite going a set behind, Frances Tiafoe came back to beat Dan Evans 3-6 7-5 6-3 to clinch the win for his country, before Pegula and Fritz added some gloss after beating Dart and Evans in the mixed doubles.

The third city final in Perth included a thriller as Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Borna Coric 6-0 6-7 (4-7) 7-5. Donna Vekic had no trouble getting Croatia on the board as she eased past Despina Papamichail 6-2 6-0.

Maria Sakkari put Greece 2-1 ahead when she beat Petra Martic 6-3 6-3, but Borna Gojo defeated Stefanos Sakellaridis in straight sets to make it 2-2.

However, Greece secured the win and their place in the last four after the pairing of Sakkari and Tsitsipas saw off Martic and Gojo 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

Greece will take on Italy in the semi-finals, while Poland face the USA, with both taking place in Sydney on Friday.

Wins for Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette saw Poland advance to the City Finals of the United Cup in Australia on Tuesday.

Hurkacz made it through a tough encounter against Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to give Poland a 2-1 lead in their Group B tie with Switzerland in Brisbane, before Linette came from behind to beat Jil Teichmann 5-7 6-4 6-1 to clinch it.

Poland will face Italy in the Brisbane final, whose 5-0 whitewash of Norway included Matteo Berrettini sealing victory with a 6-4 6-4 win over Casper Ruud.

In Perth, Croatia advanced to the City Finals after a dramatic day that saw Caroline Garcia get France on the board with a straight sets win against Petra Martic, before Adrian Mannarino came from a set down against Borna Gojo to serve for the match as he looked to bring his country level at 2-2.

However, Gojo broke back in a tense encounter before winning a deciding tie-break to send Croatia through to face Greece, who sealed a 4-1 win against Belgium.

Stefanos Sakellaridis recovered from going a set behind to beat Zizou Bergs, before Maria Sakkari overcame Elise Mertens 6-1 7-5, with Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas adding some gloss to the score with a mixed doubles success against Kirsten Flipkens and Michael Geerts. 

Spain and Australia were unable to progress but the hosts at least had the consolation of securing a victory thanks to wins for Jason Kubler against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and the mixed doubles duo of John Peers and Sam Stosur against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and David Vega Hernandez.

The USA had already secured their Finals berth against Great Britain in Sydney, but were ruthless as they finished off their tie against Germany to win 5-0.

After Jessica Pegula beat Laura Siegemund 6-3 6-2, Frances Tiafoe also defeated Oscar Otte in straight sets, before the American duo combined to beat Siegemund and Daniel Altmaier 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 10-7 to complete a clean sweep.

Maria Sakkari sealed victory for top-seeded Greece over Bulgaria in the United Cup with a straight sets win over Viktoriya Tomova.

Team-mates Stefanos Tsitsipas and Despina Papamichail had already won their matches on Thursday, and Sakkari's 6-3 6-2 triumph gave Greece an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Michail Pervolarakis was defeated by Dimitar Kuzmanov in the final singles match between the nations, but Tsitsipas and Sakkari teamed up to earn Greece a 6-4 6-4 success in the doubles encounter to end on a high.

World number 16 Matteo Berrettini helped Italy topple Brazil by overcoming Thiago Monteiro 6-4 7-6 (9-7).

That gave Italy a 2-1 lead, and Lucia Bronzetti finished the job by demolishing Laura Pigossi in straight sets, with Brazil powerless to overturn the deficit despite Berrettini and Camilla Rosatello's defeat in the doubles match.

US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe clinched a win for the United States over the Czech Republic after opponent Tomas Machac retired with an ankle injury with the score at 6-3 2-4.

Petra Kvitova had defeated Jessica Pegula 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the third singles match to give Czech Republic hope, but Tiafoe's win settled the contest before Pegula and Taylor Fritz joined up for success in the doubles.

Great Britain were 3-2 victors over Australia despite a pair of defeats on day two in Sydney.

Cameron Norrie's triumph over Nick Kyrgios' replacement Alex De Minaur on day one had helped Great Britain to a 2-0 lead over the hosts, and Harriet Dart prevailed over Maddison Inglis to wrap up the victory.

Dan Evans was then beaten 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by Jason Kubler before Dart and Jonny O'Mara fell to defeat in the doubles, but Great Britain's strong start saw them through.

France and Switzerland completed 5-0 sweeps of Argentina and Kazakhstan respectively, with Caroline Garcia winning both her singles and doubles matches in straight sets while Stan Wawrinka saw off Alexander Bublik 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Aryna Sabalenka kept her hopes of progressing to last four of the WTA Finals alive with a straight-sets win over Jessica Pegula.

Sabalenka claimed her second win in three matches with a 6-3 7-5 triumph against her American opponent in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Having dominated the opening set, Sabalenka twice failed to consolidate a break of serve in the second.

However, she struck for a third and final time to claim a win that means she will go through in second place in Group Nancy Richey if Maria Sakkari, who is already through, wins a set against Ons Jabeur in the final round-robin match. Pegula exits having lost all three of her matches.

"I’m just happy that I was really focused from the beginning to the end and I was able to finish this match in two sets," Sabalenka said afterwards.

Sabalenka struck 31 winners en route to victory, hitting at least 30 for the 16th match this season.

Only Caroline Garcia (18) and Elena Rybakina (17) have had more such matches on the WTA Tour in 2022, indicating that, if Sabalenka does go through, she has the firepower to threaten to claim the trophy.

BREAK POINTS WON

Sabalenka - 6/12

Pegula - 3/5

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Swiatek - 1/3

Kasatkina - 1/1