As the title defenders, Alexander Zverev and his teammates will not enter the fray in the mixed doubles tournament until Sunday.
Despite the withdrawal of Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, China won the opening match in the German group at the United Cup in Perth, Australia.
Gao Xinyu, who replaced Zheng, and Zhang Zhizhen in the men’s singles secured the 3-0 victory over Brazil. The encounter was already decided before the final mixed doubles match.
The German team, with world number two Alexander Zverev (Hamburg) and Laura Siegemund (Metzingen), will play their first match in the mixed tournament during the night from Saturday to Sunday (3:00 a.m. CET).
The title defenders will first face Brazil. If they win, they will play China the next day (10:00 a.m. CET) for first place in the group and a guaranteed spot in the quarterfinals.
In the second game of the day, Kazakhstan beat Spain 2-1. The six group winners and the two best second-placed teams advance to the quarterfinals. From the semi-finals on, all matches will be played in Sydney. Zverev is using the United Cup to prepare for the Australian Open in Melbourne (starting January 12).
