the tennis season started in australia on thursday with a new mixed team event called the united cup. 18 countries have been drawn in six groups, played in sydney, perth and brisbane. each of the group ties is spread over two days, with two singles on the opening day, all building up to the final on the 8th of january. the usa got off to a flying start with taylor fritz beating the czech republic sjiri lehecka in straight sets in group c. madison keys followed that up with a 6 4, 6 3 win over marie bouz kova, so the us just need to win one more match to take the tie. over in group a in perth greece hava had a good start against bulgaria opening up a 2 0 lead. stefanos tsitsipas won the second match, coming from a set down to beat grigor dimitrov meanwhile, novak djokovic has said he ll never forget being deported from australia earlier this year. the serb insists his willingness to return for next month s grand slam at melbourne park shows the depth of feeling