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Mertens & Bergs Lead Belgium to United Cup Win, Quarterfinals on the Line

Elise Mertens defeated Victoria Mboko in three sets to clinch Belgium's United Cup tie victory over Canada. The win was set up by a stunning straight-sets victory from Zizou Bergs over World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Despite winning the tie, Belgium must win the mixed doubles to secure a quarterfinal spot, otherwise Canada will advance. Bergs saved all five break points he faced in his impressive top-10 victory.

Key Points: Belgium Beats Canada in United Cup, Awaits Quarterfinal Fate

  • Elise Mertens wins three-setter vs Mboko
  • Zizou Bergs upsets World No. 5 Auger-Aliassime
  • Belgium wins tie but needs sweep to advance
  • Canada can still qualify with mixed doubles win
2 min read

United Cup: Mertens beats Mboko to seal Belgium's win over Canada as group winner up for grabs

Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs secure Belgium's United Cup win over Canada. Group winner and quarterfinal spot still up for grabs in Sydney.

"I actually forgot this was my second Top-10 win, so that's really huge, actually, especially with a convincing way of playing. - Zizou Bergs"

Sydney, Jan 6

Elise Mertens secured Belgium's victory over Canada with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 triumph against Victoria Mboko. Her 2 hour and 5-minute triumph followed a stunning 6-4, 6-2 win by Zizou Bergs against World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime, putting Belgium on the brink of the quarterfinals.

Despite winning the tie, the Belgians need a clean sweep to advance. If Canada wins mixed doubles, then it advances to the knockout rounds.

Mertens rode a stellar serving performance to a one-set lead, holding at love in each of her first four service games and breaking Mboko decisively to love in the sixth game as well.

Though Mboko showed the fighting spirit but Mertens earned the decisive break of serve in the fourth game from a 30-0 deficit, and won a staggering 93% of points behind her first serve in the match overall, WTA reports.

Earlier, Bergs secured his second career Top 10 victory in 1 hour and 28 minutes over Auger-Aliassime, having also defeated then-World No. 9 Andrey Rublev 10 months ago in Miami.

"I actually forgot this was my second Top-10 win, so that's really huge, actually, especially with a convincing way of playing," Bergs said.

"I just looked at it as a match. This is a a little different format, so we're still down. We still have to win a lot of matches today, so that was more the focus and today I just had to get the job done," he added.

Auger-Aliassime, however, enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025, reaching the US Open semi-finals and competing in the Nitto ATP Finals. He looked sharp in his first match of the season against Zhang, but was unable to dominate the same way against Bergs, who saved all five break points he faced.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Sarah B
As a tennis fan in India, I love seeing these team events. The pressure is so different from individual tournaments. Mertens' serving stats are insane - 93% points won behind first serve! That's how you close out a match.
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Priyanka N
Feel a bit for Mboko. She showed fighting spirit in the second set, but Mertens was just too clinical. The format is so tense! Everything comes down to the mixed doubles now. Makes for great viewing.
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Rahul R
Interesting to see Auger-Aliassime struggle after such a strong 2025. Maybe a bit of off-season rust? Bergs played the match of his life, no doubt. Hope we get more Indian players competing at this level soon! 🎾
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Aman W
Respectfully, the article focuses a lot on the winners (rightly so) but I wish there was more analysis on what went wrong for FAA. He's a top player, and these early season losses can set the tone. Hope he bounces back.
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Kavya N
The United Cup is such a fun tournament to watch! The national pride element adds another layer. Belgium pulling off this upset is what makes sports so unpredictable. Can't wait for the mixed doubles decider!

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