Setting Up Sunday: Djokovic, Korda clash; Italy, U.S. battle for United Cup; Teens Gauff, Noskova seek titles

There are three storylines closing out the first week of the 2023 season. Djokovic, Korda and Italy are playing each other on Sunday.

Sebastian Korda is playing in the ATP singles final in Adelaide International. It's a first-time meeting between Novak Djokovic and Kordsa. Sebastian's father won the Australian Open in 1998. Korsa won his first ATP title in 2021 in Parma.

Korda and Djokovic are playing tennis in Adelaide. DjOKovic was deported from Australia 12 months ago. Kord was ranked 41 at the start of the year. He is playing in his first tournament since winning the title as a teenager. The Serbian has won 33 straight matches in Australia. Djoko injured his left leg during his match against Daniil Medvedev. It was nothing serious. They are both looking for their 92nd career singles title. Italy and the U.S. are also playing for United Cup.

United Cup is a co-ed, round-robin team event taking place in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. It's similar to the Hopman Cup, the coed team tournament that was held in Perth from 1989 to 2019. The United Cup has been a difficult time for Tennis Australia. There were political twists and turns last year with Djokovic and financial losses well into the millions. This year, COVID-19 was resolved. Tennis has its role to play. Two weeks prior to US Open, USTA conducted a similar event in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are playing in two tennis finals in Australia on Sunday. Sabahenka is playing a qualifier, Linda Noskova, and Gauf is up against Rebeka Masarova. The tennis players have more freedom in individual sports than in team sports. They can choose their own coaches. For example, football players can hire their coaches, whereas tennis has players who choose to work with their trainers. It's a good example of this. Samalenko finished the last two years ranked inside the top five. Gaugg cracked the world's top ten after the US Open and is currently ranked seventh.