Stunning from Gibson!

She may have had a slice of luck to with set point, earning a very favourable net cord, but there was nothing lucky about the way she earned the first break – and then held to consolidate at 5-3.

Whether her mind has been focused by the injury issues it’s hard to say, but she is hitting the ball so cleanly, leaving nothing out there.

She wins the second 6-3 and is one set away from the biggest win of her career.

It’s just after she broke serve, and then lost her own serve to make it 2-2 in the second.

Once again Talia is really impressing here – but in that last service game she did make three unforced errors in the row to throw away the advantage she worked so hard to earn.

G’day Mike.

This is Talia’s third ever match at this level – having lost the previous two, I should add.

And yet, she’s holding her own very impressively.

This is the first time she’s ever faced a player in the top 50, and I’ve been hugely impressed with her.

Rotten luck for Talia Gibson, who surrenders the first set in a tie break to Marie Bouzkova.

Now, I am certainly no expert in Bouzkova’s body language, but I don’t think she’s looking overly comfortable at the moment.

In fact, I’d suggest that’s she’s not looking entirely well…

Anyway, she has the first set.

World number four Jasmina Paolini has absolutely crushed Swiss player Belinda Bencic in Sydney, completing a 6-1, 6-1 victory inside an hour.

It gives Italy a 2-0 lead over Switzerland in their tie, rendering the mixed doubles clash largely irrelevant.

There is a cracking match taking place on Pat Rafter Arena at the moment, with Talia Gibson going gangbusters to hold her serve against Marie Bouzkova.

We’re locked at 4-4, on serve after a break each.

Both women are committing errors, but they’re more than holding their own.

Great stuff from the Germans, who complete a 3-0 victory after a mixed doubles triumph for Pütz and Siegemund, who win 7-6(8), 6-4 in a shade over two hours.

Pütz and Siegemund have taken the first set against Carolina Alves and Rafael Matos 7-6(8).

They are now one set away from winning the rubber 3-0.

Flavio Cobolli wins in straight-sets, giving Italy a 1-0 lead in the tie.

The Italian beat Swiss Dominic Stricker, 6-3, 7-6(2).

Australian wildcard Talia Gibson is in action in about half an hour or so, taking on world number 44 Marie Bouzková.

Twenty-year-old Gibson is ranked 140, so this would be a significant step up for her if she is to stun her way into the second round, where she will take on Jeļena Ostapenko.

-AAP

Novak Djokovic has taken aim at tennis’s double standards, frustrated by being “kept in the dark” during Jannik Sinner’s doping case.

The former world number one, seeking a record 25th grand slam title at the Australian Open next month, is top seed in a rare Brisbane International appearance this week.

He’ll also team up with Nick Kyrgios in doubles, the pair to headline Monday night’s action in the Australian’s long-awaited return from injury.

They have already teamed up off court though, Djokovic backing up Kygrios’s initial jabs in a lengthy address of current world number one Sinner’s ongoing doping case.

Sinner and former women’s world number one Iga Świątek both escaped lengthy bans despite testing positive last year, while Australian Max Purcell is serving a suspension for unknowingly receiving an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowed limit of 100 millilitres.

English doubles player Tara Moore served a 19-month ban that ended earlier this year for a doping offence she was ultimately cleared of.

Kyrgios has labelled Sinner and Świątek’s cases “disgusting” for tennis and described his sport’s integrity as “awful”.

Djokovic, who won Olympic gold but no ATP titles in 2024, was more tempered in his assessment.

“I’m not questioning whether [Sinner] took the banned substance intentionally or not,” he said on Sunday.

“We’ve had plenty of players in the past and currently under suspension for not even testing positive to the banned substances.

“Some players with lower rankings waiting for their case to be resolved for over a year.

“I’ve been really frustrated … to see we’ve been kept in the dark for at least five months [on the Sinner case].

“The ATP hasn’t really talked in depth about it. Why have they kept that case away from the public?

“We see Simona Halep’s case on the WTA Tour, now Iga Świątek’s case.

“It’s not a good image for our sport.

“I’m just questioning the way the system works and why certain players aren’t treated the same as others.

“Maybe some ranking reasons are behind it or some players have more financial backing and stronger legal teams to tackle these cases.”

Flavio Cobolli takes the first set against Dominic Stricker, 6-3.

Poor Casper Ruud.

He got through 76 matches last season, the latest of which was at the ATP Finals, where he lost to Jannik Sinner in the semi-final, on November 16.

Just over a month later, he was back in action, playing out a 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 6-4 victory over Tomáš Macháč in a gruelling two hours, 54 minutes that had the Norwegian requiring treatment on his legs in the third set.

“I was a little bit tired towards the end. It hasn’t been the longest of off seasons,” Ruud said in Perth.

However, in that short amount of time off, he still managed to get engaged to Maria Galligani.

“I did get engaged. That’s the biggest achievement of the year for sure,” he said.

“It was a great moment for me and my now fiance Maria.

“This was my first match as an engaged man, so I guess it’s working well.”

Despite it not being a decider, it’s time for the mixed doubles in Perth as Germany looks to complete a clean sweep over Brazil.

Tim Pütz partners Laura Siegemund as they take on Carolina Alves and Rafael Matos.

We are back in action in Sydney with the men’s singles clash between Flavio Cobolli and Dominic Stricker.

Alexander Zverev has completed a two-sets victory over Thiago Monteiro in one hour, 17 minutes, 6-4, 6-4.

That means, in something of a rare occurrence at this year’s United Cup, the mixed doubles will not determine the tie.

Bad news in Brisbane, as O’Connell and Thompson fall to defeat against Lehečka and Menšík and depart the Brisbane International.

The Czech pair will meet Nicolas Barrientos and Sander Gille, the eighth seed, in the next round.