Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas have gotten Greece off to a strong start in the United Cup, comfortably defeating Japan in all three matches on Friday night.
Coming up against former world No.1 Naomi Osaka in the tournament opener, Sakkari proved too strong with 6-4, 6-2 victory in Perth.
Osaka had a strong 2025 after taking time away from tennis to give birth, but her year started off poorly as Sakkari started Greece’s campaign in style.
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Naomi Osaka of Team Japan plays against Maria Sakkari of Team Greece. Getty
Sakkari was coming off the worst season of her career last year, falling outside the top 50 seeds after being as high as No.3 in 2022 and No.6 in 2024.
However, she looked back to her best here and comfortably controlled proceedings.
The second set took just 30 minutes, with Osaka slumping as Sakkari overpowered her.
Speaking before the tournament got underway, the Japanese superstar explained her reasoning for starting her season at the United Cup.
“[An] important part of playing United Cup [is] being able to play the best players in the world straight off the bat, which I think is a privilege,” she said.
“I really enjoy matches like that.”
Tsitsipas also started well, earning a straight-sets win over Shintaro Mochizuki as he looks to put the series of injuries behind him.
Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Getty
Speaking prior to the tournament, Tsitsipas admitted there were times he considered quitting the sport due to lingering back issues.
He and Sakkari also took out the doubles leg of the three-match fixture in straight sets.
Earlier on Friday it was Argentina that proved too good for Spain, winning 3-0.
Australia will enter the United Cup on Saturday, facing off against Norway, where doubt remains over young gun Maya Joint, who is dealing with illness.
Alex de Minaur will face Casper Ruud in a heavyweight battle on the men’s side.