United Cup: Garcia, Mannarino lead France into Sydney QFs

Sydney, Jan 3 (IANS) Caroline Garcia steered France into the Sydney quarter-finals of the United Cup on Wednesday with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Italy's Jasmine Paolini.

Garcia's singles win followed a win for Adrian Mannarino over Lorenzo Sonego in men's singles, giving France an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie and clinching its spot atop Group D.

Garcia served 11 aces in victory and broke serve five times. After getting even from 4-1 behind in the second set, she regrouped well to start the decider after the match was briefly paused at that juncture when a spectator required medical attention.

She won four of the first five games of the third, and emphatically slammed the door on the match by holding to love - after Paolini kept the pressure on her by not only closing the deficit from 4-1 to 4-3, but holding serving in the ninth game.

Earlier in the day, left-hander Mannarino claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win over Sonego, who came into the match having won eight of his past nine matches against Frenchmen.

At 35, Mannarino enters 2024 after playing some of his best tennis last season, when he claimed three titles and 43 match wins, both personal bests. At a career-high No. 22 in the ATP Rankings, Mannarino is closing in on the Top 20 and also the 300-wins milestone (currently 289).

As the group winners, France will face Norway in the quarter-finals.