"You’re going down" - Harriet Dart banters with Frances Tiafoe ahead of Great Britain-USA clash at United Cup City Finals
Team USA's Frances Tiafoe has declared war on Great Britain a day before the two sides are scheduled to square off for a spot in the semifinals of the 2023 United Cup. Harriet Dart also responded by sending a warning to the 19th-ranked rising star.
Great Britain beat Australia 3-2 and Spain 4-1 in Group D to qualify for the knockout stages in Sydney. The USA, on the other hand, convincingly beat the Czech Republic 4-1 and Germany 5-0 in Group C.
When the two teams clash on Wednesday, the fixtures will include four singles matches and a doubles encounter. 24-year-old Tiafoe took to social media earlier on Tuesday to congratulate his team for having reached the next round of the new tournament, while also getting ready for the next challenge against Great Britain.
"Happy to be back. Missed this game. Solid start for USA @unitedcuptennis. Great Britain next. Let’s go to war," Tiafoe wrote.
World No. 98 Dart commented on his post, saying:
"You’re going down" - Dart wrote with a laughing emoji.
Frances Tiafoe was highly impressive in the league stage, winning all the matches that he featured in, in both singles and doubles. He kicked off his 2023 season with a win against 97th-ranked Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, who suffered an ankle injury and had to retire mid-match. The American was leading 6-3, 2-4 at the time.
In his second match, Tiafoe downed World No. 76 Oscar Otte of Germany 7-5, 6-4. He then partnered with Jessica Pegula and rallied from a set down to beat Laura Siegemund and Daniel Altmaier 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-7.
Dart competed in her first match of the tournament on Day 2 when she defeated 179th-ranked Maddison Inglis of Australia 6-4, 6-4. However, she and Jonny O’Mara lost their doubles encounter 7-6(4), 6-4 against Sam Stosur and John Peers.
Spain's Paula Badosa beat 26-year-old Dart 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-1 in a thriller on Day 4 before the Brit teamed up with O'Mara once again. They defeated David Vega Hernandez and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 3-6, 6-2, 10-5.
"You're going to see a lot of good, gritty battles" - Frances Tiafoe on USA taking on Great Britain at United Cup
Frances Tiafoe will play two matches on Wednesday when the USA and Great Britain face each other for a spot in the United Cup semifinals. First, he will lock horns with Cameron Norrie and then team up with Jessica Pegula to take on Harriet Dart and Daniel Evans.
In a press conference, Tiafoe stated that he was excited to play against the Brits.
"Sure, yeah, great team obviously. Battle-tested. Tim Henman screaming 'concentrate' all the time so guys are locked in. Yeah, it should be really fun. Good players. I mean, I'm sure you're going to see a lot of good, gritty battles. I'm excited to get out there tomorrow," he said.