United Cup 2025: Canada beat Croatia despite Auger-Aliassime’s failure
Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Borna Coric after dishing out a bagel but redeemed himself in mixed doubles to earn a 2-1 win for Canada
Auger-Aliassime © Zuma / Panoramic
Canada defeated Croatia 2-1 in a Group A meeting of the 2025 United Cup on Saturday (December 28) at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Felix Auger-Aliassime, the world No 29, failed to win his singles match against Borna Coric but contributed in mixed doubles along with compatriot Leylah Fernandez.
Canada is now in the pole position of Group A ahead of Croatia in second and the United States in third place.
Fernandez upends Vekic
Fernandez upended world No 19 Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s singles match-up to put Canada in an advantageous position.
The world No 31 did it in 87 minutes on the back of four aces and two break-point conversions, maintaining an 81 percent average on first serve points.
“I’m super happy with the way that I played, the way that I stayed consistent in the tough moments,” Fernandez said on-court after her match. “Donna, she’s an incredible player and incredible fighter, and I knew she wasn’t going to give it to me, especially at the start of the second set. I’m just happy that I stayed mentally strong.”
Coric stages comeback win against Auger-Aliassime
In the men’s singles battle, Auger-Aliassime destroyed Borna Coric, the world No 90, in the opening set, dishing out a bagel.
However, Coric turned it around in the following sets to win the match 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 after two hours, 21 minutes of tussling. The Canadian outperformed the Canadian in nearly every department—smashing 13 aces to Coric’s one and converting five break points, one more than his opponent. But the world No 29 lagged in clutch moments.
“I’m not sure [how I won],” wondered Coric after the match. “I came out and I was not feeling my serve. It’s obviously very tough to play against him when I’m not feeling it. I just tried to stay positive with the crowd here and I knew I was going to have my chances. Then I started to play better. It was absolute chaos but in the end, I had a little bit of luck.”
Auger-Aliassime makes up for the loss
Auger-Aliassime made up for his singles loss as he teamed up with Fernandez for mixed-doubles duty in the deciding match of the United Cup tie.
The Canadian pair finished the job against Croatia’s Lucija Ciric Bagaric and Ivan Dodig in just 67 minutes, winning the match 6-3, 6-4 to take their side home.
“It was great, no loss of serve, so that means whatever we were in control of, we were doing well,” Auger-Aliassime said after the tie. “It’s all about trust, not going for too much, we trust each other.”
