Dan Evans overcomes illness to send Britain into 'City final' of United Cup

Great Britain are into the City Final of the inaugural United Cup in tennis after Dan Evans overcame illness to clinch victory against Spain by beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the final singles.

With Tim Henman continuing his upbeat courtside coaching, the mixed British team maintained momentum from their victory against Australia on Friday and then Cameron Norrie’s singles win against Rafael Nadal by completing a 4-1 win against Spain.

They will now face the winners of Group C – the United States – on Wednesday before a potential semi-final and final over the next week.

Taylor Fritz took advantage of a dominant serve to beat Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-4 then Madison Keys followed Fritz on court and extended the United States' lead to 2-0 with victory over Jule Niemeier. The match continues Tuesday when Jessica Pegula faces Laura Siegemund and Francis Tiafore meets Oscar Otte.

Great Britain had already beaten Australia on Thursday and Friday and then led 2-0 overnight against Spain following Norrie’s big win against Nadal, the reigning Australian and French Open champion. Harriet Dart had the first chance to put Britain into an unassailable lead, against former world No 2 Paula Badosa, but having won a 77-minute first set on a tie-break and then led 5-2 in the second she was dramatically overhauled 7-6, 6-7, 1-6 in a marathon three-hour match.

It left Evans, who had been struggling with illness, with a chance to put Britain through and he prevailed brilliantly with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory against Ramos-Vinolas – the world No 39 – following another tense and physical match.

"I don't feel my strongest, but I have a great team behind us, Tim [Henman] as well, they keep pushing us. It’s tough to throw the towel in with all of them behind us,” said Evans, who celebrated victory with a roar, fist pump and high fives with the watching Britain team.

“We've had a bit of luck, a few withdrawals," added Evans, "We've done unbelievably well on the court as well. We pride ourselves on team spirit and working hard out there for each other."

It meant that the mixed doubles was effectively a dead rubber but Dart continued her impressive singles form to team up with Jonny O'Mara and beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and David Vega Hernandez in a deciding ‘super tie-break’ after they had shared the opening two sets.

That completed an emphatic win against Spain, leaving Britain in an unassailable position in Group D and set up an intriguing showdown with the United States, who have one of the strongest teams in the competition.

Britain had beaten hosts Australia 3-2 last week after racing into an unassailable 3-0 lead. Nick Kyrgios had been expected to play for Australia but opted to withdraw ahead of the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne later this month.

The new mixed-team format, which is being played in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, has proved hugely popular so far. Britain will play their City Final in Sydney at the Ken Rosewall Arena, which will also stage the semi-finals and the final.

Mixed events were a popular new feature in swimming and triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics but the only other chance for leading men and women to compete together currently in tennis is in mixed doubles at the Olympic Games and in the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Tennis did previously have the Hopman Cup between 1989 and 2019 and, despite being an exhibition event, attracted a vast television audience in its final year when Roger Federer and Serena Williams played against each other as part of a mixed doubles match.