Caroline Garcia helped France secure a spot in the semifinals of the United Cup mixed teams tennis tournament after defeating Malin Helgo in singles and then teaming up with Edouard Roger-Vasselin to win the decisive doubles match, leading to a 2-1 victory over Norway on Thursday in Sydney. The pair of Garcia and Roger-Vasselin overcame the duo of Ulrikke Eikeri and Casper Ruud with scores of 7-5 and 6-4 in an entertaining mixed doubles match.
The first set was challenging until France broke serve to lead 6-5 before winning the opening set. They then broke serve once more to go ahead 2-1 in the second set. Roger-Vasselin, aged 40, stated, "Tomorrow will be a rest day. We are not young anymore, especially me. Tomorrow will just be a day off, and we will try to relax and perhaps enjoy Sydney, then we will come back strong for the semifinal on Saturday."
Earlier, world number 20 Garcia managed to secure victory despite stumbling in the second set, winning 6-2, 6-7, and 7-6 against Helgo. Garcia seemed on her way to an easy win after clinching the first set and having a match point in the second set tiebreak, but Helgo, ranked 544th, made things difficult for the French player. Garcia commented, "It was a crazy match. I didn’t know Malin, but she was hitting the ball very well. I went through all the emotions and had to find a way to overcome that."
Casper Ruud, who had won his last two singles matches, brought Norway back into contention with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Adrian Mannarino. Mannarino, ranked 22nd in the world, had no response to Ruud's stunning performance but managed to avoid a crushing defeat in the first set by holding his last service game before improving in the second set.
France will face Poland in the semifinals on Saturday in Sydney, while Greece and Germany will play on Friday to determine who will face Australia in the other semifinal match.
