SYDNEY: Former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic sparkled on her return to the elite circuit after her maternity break, leading Switzerland to a 2-1 win over France in the United Cup mixed team tournament on Saturday.

The 27-year-old beat Chloe Paquet 6-3, 6-1 in her first WTA Tour level match since giving birth to daughter Bella in April.

She later combined with Dominic Stricker to defeat Elixane Lechemia and Edouard RogerVasselin 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).

Bencic, who will compete in the Jan 12-26 Australian Open with a protected ranking, said she was playing at a higher level than she expected.

`The whole comeback went much faster than I anticipated and expected. It`s great, said Bencic, who first returned to action in October and played in the Billie Jean King Cup, apart from lower level tournaments.

`I didn`t rush things. I was super careful with starting again.

I didn`t really want to put time pressure on my comeback. I just wanted to see how it goes every day. I think I was ready. There`s no point in practising more. It`s boring, right? It`s better to play competitive matches.

Ugo Humbert had earlier pulled France level at 1-1 with a 6-3 7-5 win over Stricker in the Group `D` contest, battling backfrom 2-5 down in the second set to prevail and force a mixed doubles rubber at the Ken Rosewall Arena.

In the evening session, Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in Group `F` as Nadia Podoroska beat Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-4 before Maria Lourdes Carle and Tomas Martin Etcheverry downed Ellen Perez and Matt Ebden 6-2, 6-4.

Alex De Minaur had powered past Etcheverry 6-1, 6-4 to make it 1-1 in front of a raucous home crowd.

Canada were also victorious in Group `A` of the tournament that features 18 countries, as they defeated Croatia 2-1 in Perth`s RAC Arena.

Former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez overcame Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3 before Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed to a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss against Borna Coric.

Fernandez and AugerAliassime then saw off Lucija Ciric Bagaric and Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the tie.

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro got Spain off to a solid start with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Maria Sakkari before Stefanos Tsitsipas got past Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to put Greece on the board in a Group C clash.

Sakkari and Tsitsipas then edged out Yvonne CavalleReimers and Sergio Martos Gornes 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 to wrap up the tie.-Reuters