Madison Keys gave the United States an early 1-0 lead over Great Britain with a win over World No. 145 Katie Swan in the United Cup Sydney City Final, here on Wednesday.
World No. 7 Keys registered a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Swan after rallying from a set down.
Britain has served as a fantastic underdog foil at the United Cup, as they staged upset wins over Australia and Spain in the group stage. Swan looked keen to continue the trend, as she took the opening set 2-6.
But, the American bounced back quickly to take the second set but could not hold on to an early lead in the decider. Swan broke back to 3-3 in the third set off a double fault from the American.
Keys then showed her experience in the end. She played a disciplined and patient return game to break Swan to 5-4 and served out the win after two hours and 18 minutes.
The tie continues with the battle of team No. 1s as Taylor Fritz is set to face Cameron Norrie and Jessica Pegula to face Harriet Dart. Frances Tiafoe will play Daniel Evans in the fourth singles tie.
If the teams are tied at 2-2 after singles, the match will come down to mixed doubles, which is scheduled to feature Pegula and Tiafoe against Dart and Evans.
The winner of the tie will advance to the United Cup Final Four, which is scheduled here on Friday. The best runner-up from across the three City Finals will also progress to the Final Four.
