United Cup 2025: Humbert’s efforts go in vain as Bencic leads Switzerland to victory over France
Switzerland beat France 2-1 in a Group D tie on the back of Belinda Bencic’s magic in singles and mixed doubles
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Switzerland defeated France 2-1 in a Group D battle of the 2025 United Cup on Saturday, December 28, at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, Australia. Ugo Humbert fought a lone battle for the French as he saw Belinda Bencic and Dominic Stricker take the Swiss over the line.
With the victory, Switzerland moved to the top of the Group D standings, with France and Italy occupying the second and third places, respectively.
Bencic downs Pacquet to give Switzerland the lead
Bencic, the former world No 4, provided Switzerland a perfect start by taking down world No 123 Chloe Pacquet in the opening match.
She erred on the second serve three times but finished with a better conversion rate of 69 percent and 55 percent on both serves to the Frenchwoman’s 55 and 26, respectively. Furthermore, she had her serve broken once but converted five break points herself to secure a 6-3, 6-1 win in less than 90 minutes.
“I’m really excited to be back, of course,” she said after playing her first match on the tour post pregnancy break. “I had a little bit of nerves at the start and a little bit of rust, so I’m happy I kind of accepted that and tried to fight through it. And after, I felt like it went smoother, I became a little bit more calm, and kind of was more able to focus on my tennis.”
Humbert equalises for France
Humbert delivered when his nation needed him the most as his loss to Dominic Stricker would have meant game over for France in a best-of-three-match tie.
The world No 14 needed only 75 minutes to finish Sticker’s challenge as he broke the latter thrice, winning 55 percent of second serve points on return to end the match 6-3, 7-5. Interestingly, the two players smashed 10 aces each during the match.
“It was the first match of the year, so it was not easy after the preseason. I worked well,” Humbert said after the win. “I felt much better at the end and I’m super happy about my win today.”
Bencic and Stricker join forces to finish the job
It all came down to the mixed doubles duel that saw Bencic and Stricker pair up against France’s Elixane Lechemia and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
The Swiss duo were quick to claim the opening set but faced stern resistance from their opponents, however, they finished the job in straight sets, securing a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win.
“I saw her matches when she played with Roger, so it was not easy for me,” Stricker said, remembering Bencic’s exploits with Roger Federer at the Hopman cup between 2017 and 2019. “But we just had a good talk before the match and then we came out hot and it’s super great to win that match and that tie.”
