China's United Cup hopes uncertain after Canada defeat

SYDNEY, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's hopes of reaching the United Cup quarterfinals suffered a major setback on Sunday as Zhang Zhizhen and Zhu Lin both lost their singles matches in a 3-0 defeat to second seeds Canada, leaving their last-eight chances hanging by a thread.

In an intriguing women's match, Zhu let a strong start slip after taking the first set 6-2, as rising star Victoria Mboko rallied to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-0 under the roof at Ken Rosewall Arena after storms lashed Sydney in the afternoon.

In the later men's singles, Zhang's effort was not enough against world No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who prevailed 6-4, 6-4.

Auger-Aliassime set the tone with an early break, which proved enough to secure the first set. With his serve impeccable, the 25-year-old again needed only a single break in the second set to wrap up a straight-sets win.

"I can be very pleased with this first match of the year. You never know what to expect and I played some of my best tennis," said Auger-Aliassime, who is seeking an elusive major title at the Australian Open.

Zhang said Auger-Aliassime "was serving really well today."

"At least at the beginning I had some chances, but he handled it well with his serves," Zhang told reporters at the media conference. "Second set was quite okay for me, today I would say my performance is not bad."

Auger-Aliassime then teamed up with Mboko to defeat Te Rigele and You Xiaodi 6-1, 6-3 in the mixed doubles to complete Canada's clean sweep.

The tournament, held in Sydney and Perth, features 18 teams divided into six groups, with the group winners and two best second-placed teams from the two cities advancing to the elimination stage. Having beaten Belgium 2-1 on Saturday, China remains in contention for a quarterfinal spot, with the result between Belgium and Canada set to decide its fate.

Meanwhile in Sydney, Germany swept the Netherlands, with men's world No. 3 Alexander Zverev beginning his Australian Open preparations by beating Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets.

Britain defeated Japan 2-1 in Perth despite former Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka brushing past Katie Swan, who was a late replacement for Emma Raducanu. Enditem