Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez came up clutch when it mattered most Saturday at the United Cup.

In a winner-takes-all mixed doubles rubber, the Canadians defeated Ivan Dodig and Lucija Ciric Bagaric 6-3, 6-4 to seal a 2-1 triumph over Croatia in Group A. Auger-Aliassime and Fernandez were clinical throughout the 66-minute contest, during which they did not face a break point.

“Positivity [was key], just having fun, I think we are just having fun on court,” said Fernandez. “We stayed aggressive within ourselves and in a lot of the important points, we were able to execute our game plan.”

Auger-Aliassime added: “It was great, no loss of serve, so that means whatever we were in control of, we were doing well. It’s all about trust, not going for too much, we trust each other.”

Canada is back in action on Sunday night, when it faces a tricky test against USA, led by Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff. 

Borna Coric had earlier rallied from the brink of defeat against Auger-Aliassime to keep croatia alive and send the tie to a live decider. After losing the opening eight games of the match, the 28-year-old dug deep for an epic 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph, during which he won seven consecutive games of his own.

“I’m not sure [how I won],” said Coric, the former No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “I came out and I was not feeling my serve. It’s obviously very tough to play against him when I’m not feeling it.

“I just tried to stay positive with the crowd here and I knew I was going to have my chances. Then I started to play better. It was absolute chaos [in the third set] but in the end, I had a little bit of luck.”

Keeping Team Croatia alive! @borna_coric 🇭🇷 #Unitedcup pic.twitter.com/BoS2lEgOqy

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) December 28, 2024

Auger-Aliassime had not competed since October through injury, but won 78 per cent (25/32) of points in a near-flawless first set, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The former No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings then had one foot in the locker room at 4-2 in the second set, but blazed a mid-court forehand long at 15/30 on Coric’s serve. It turned out to be a pivotal moment, with Coric finding the energy to turn the match on its head.

Coric let slip the opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4 in the deciding set, but recovered to cross the line in two hours, 19 minutes and improve to 3-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Fernandez earlier handed Donna Vekic her first career United Cup singles defeat, prevailing 6-4, 6-3 to give Canada an initial 1-0 lead in the tie.

Though Vekic, in her third tour for Croatia in the competition, was previously 5-0 in United Cup singles matches, she also had never faced a Top 20 opponent in United Cup to date. While Fernandez, Canada’s top player, is currently ranked No.31, the 2021 US Open finalist punched above her weight in 2024 and continued that in her season opener. Six of her 10 career Top 20 victories came last season, and she needed 1 hour and 26 minutes to add another win against that ranking group to her ledger against No.19 Vekic.

"I'm super happy with the way that I played, the way that I stayed consistent in the tough moments," Fernandez said on-court post-match. "Donna, she's an incredible player and incredible fighter, and I knew she wasn't going to give it to me, especially at the start of the second set. I'm just happy that I stayed mentally strong."

There was little to separate the two players in the opening set in RAC Arena, with neither player even facing a break point in the first nine games. But a forehand winner from Fernandez turned a 0-15 10th game lead into a true opening, and a double fault by the Croatian gave the Canadian three chances for a one-set edge. Ultimately, she’d need four: After Vekic clawed back to deuce, and failed to convert a game point of her own, she double faulted for a second time in the game to hand Fernandez the set.

Another double fault, Vekic’s sixth in the match, proved key in the decisive second-set break, with the Croat serving in the eighth game of set two. Having worked out of 0-40 in her previous service game, there was no such escape for Vekic the second time around. Following the double fault, two missed backhands gave Fernandez the break—and a love hold, punctuated with her fourth ace, sealed the win.