United Cup
Dutch double propels Netherlands past Norway in United Cup
Rudd won the Norwegian title
December 30, 2023
Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs defeat Casper Ruud and Ulrikke Eikeri in straight sets on Saturday in Sydney.
By the ATP/WTA staff
Holland’s double did the trick on Saturday for the Netherlands, who beat Norway 2-1 in Sydney’s first tie of the 2024 United Cup.
After Casper Ruud equalized for his country with a convincing singles win against Tallon Griekspoor, captain Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs helped their country bounce back, defeating Ruud and Ulrikke Eikeri 7-6(5), 7 -5 to take the Group F tie.
“I think the mixed doubles here is obviously the key to either win the tie or get 3-love out of it or save the team a little bit,” Koolhof said. “I think it was a very good level. I think we broke Casper three times and we waited for Ulrikke’s last race to break her… Very proud of the team. It’s a good start for us to end 2023 with a win.”
Norway had a chance to serve for the second set and force a pressure-filled Match Tie-Break. But the Dutch never panicked and after recovering the break they had gone down, Schuurs smashed the return past net-man Ruud to give her country the crucial break.
“I think it’s been kind of a roller coaster, a mixed one,” Schuurs said. “They were up. We came back. We had chances. We didn’t take the chances. In the end it was just a few small points that made the difference, but I think in the important moments we were very strong.”
Group F’s next match is on Monday when Norway look to get back on track against Croatia. The Netherlands will play Croatia on Tuesday afternoon.
Ruud got his 2024 season off to a flying start with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Dutchman Griekspur, forcing a mixed doubles decider.
Rudd, the No. 11 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and the highest-ranked player in Group F, converted three of his seven break points to win after one hour and 12 minutes.
This was the pair’s second Lexus ATP Head2Head clash after Rudd triumphed in Acapulco 2021 in a final-set tiebreak. Griekspoor had won two matches under the tournament (in 2015 and 2019, respectively).
The Dutchman enjoyed his best season in 2023, reaching career-high No. 21 in November. He qualified in the Netherlands for the United Cup for the first time, but only managed to win 62 percent of his service points against Ruud.
Griekspoor did not hold their own in the last game of the tie after suffering a disappointing defeat. He served as de facto captain with Koolhof on the court and encouraged his teammates until the end.
“I’m not really the type to sit by myself and cry about my singles. I didn’t play better. I didn’t play worse. It was a little bit up and down,” Griekspoor said. “Casper played well. You’re playing a high quality opponent, it is what it is. Trying to get the positives out of it.
“I try to be there to help the team. It’s a team event. It’s something I enjoy and I’m really happy with how they did.”
In the first match of the tie, Arantxa Rus started the Netherlands with a 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Malene Helgø to give her team a 1-0 lead in their opening Group F tie of the United Cup.
Despite 478 places between the two in the WTA rankings, the 24-year-old Helgø, who made her Hologic WTA Tour debut at this competition 12 months ago, pushed her higher-ranked opponent hard in a first set that lasted more than one hour.
World No. 51 Rus led 4-2 in the first but lost the next three games, twice serving to stay in the first set. Both times, he rose to the challenge: Down 5-4, he held at love, and at 6-5, he held for 15. He opened the ensuing tiebreak by winning four straight points — and although Helgo got to one at 4- 3 and 5-4 — Rus closes to a one-set lead in her first set.
Set two was all Rus, who, after saving a break point at 1-1, broke Helgø after the Norwegian had three chances to hold at 2-2 and hardly looked back. The final game became tricky, however, as Rus needed a total of five match points to seal the opening win.