Jessica Pegula had to regroup after being upset in her singles match to help the United States defeat Great Britain in their United Cup tie Sunday in Sydney.
Katie Boulter stunned the fifth-ranked Pegula by rallying from a set down to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in nearly three hours.
The Americans drew level when 10th-ranked Taylor Fritz defeated Cameron Norrie 7-6 (5), 6-4 to force a deciding mixed doubles match. Pegula and Fritz then combined for victory over Boulter and Neal Skupski 1-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7 that sealed the tie for the defending champions.
The Americans will qualify for the quarterfinals if they win their final match against Australia. All three teams still have a chance to qualify if Australia beats the U.S. in the final group match.
Novak Djokovic started his United Cup debut on a winning note as the world No. 1 eased past China’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3 6-2 before doubling up to secure a 2-1 victory for Serbia in the mixed team tournament.
Djokovic wasted little time in priming himself for a run at a record-extending 11th Australian Open title as he dismantled world No. 58 Zhang in 72 minutes at a packed RAC Arena.
“It’s great to be back in Perth,” Djokovic said. “New Year’s in a few hours, so I really appreciate you coming to hopefully celebrate New Year’s Eve with us here on the court. It’s been 10 years since I’ve been in Perth, and this arena is definitely one of the nicest, from inside and outside, that I’ve played in.”
Djokovic said he felt a bit rusty early against Zhang and a “little bit out of rhythm” because of not playing a match for over a month.
“It obviously takes a little bit of time to get the engines going, and he was serving well,” Djokovic said. “I think the serve was great on my part. Whenever I needed to get myself out of trouble, at 15-15 or 30-30 in my service games, I found a good serve.”
Zheng Qinwen rolled over Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2 to make it 1-1, but Djokovic returned to play with Danilovic in the mixed doubles and seal a 6-4, 1-6, 10-6 victory against Zheng and Zhang.
In other results, 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez led Canada to a 2-1 victory over Chile in its opening United Cup match.
Fernandez defeated Daniela Seguel 6-3, 6-2 before Nicolas Jarry leveled the Group B tie for Chile by beating Steven Diez in straight sets. Diez had replaced Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was rested with a minor knee issue.
Fernandez and Diez then won the deciding mixed doubles against Seguel and Tomás Barrios Vera 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 to seal the tie for the Canadians.
“I’m extremely happy with the way I played,” world No. 35 Fernandez said after her 73-minute win over Seguel. “It wasn’t the greatest match because it is my first match of the season, the nerves, but I’m extremely happy with the way that I was able to manage it.”
Mixed teams from 18 countries are playing in Perth and Sydney in what doubles as a warmup for the Australian Open.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.