Team Poland takes out Kazakhstan to make back to back United Cup finals!

Iga Swiatek sent Poland soaring into their second straight United Cup final by battling past one of her most challenging rivals in their semifinal tie in Sydney on Saturday.

In a clash between Top 10 players and Grand Slam champions, Swiatek bested Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina 7-6(5), 6-4, sealing an insurmountable 2-0 lead for the 2024 runners-up. Hubert Hurkacz had queued Swiatek up by giving Poland the 1-0 lead with a swift victory over Alexander Shevchenko.


"I think that’s the first time I was able to win with Elena on a faster surface, so it means a lot," Swiatek said on court after her win. "I for sure didn’t start well, I felt like I [was] on the hand-brake a bit.

"I wanted to really work and change the momentum, and I’m happy that I kind of did that at the last possible chance in the first set. I kind of told myself that I’m not going to miss anymore, and I’m happy because for sure it was tough. It’s always tough against Elena."

One of the rare players who regularly troubles five-time major champion Swiatek, 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina came into Saturday’s match having won four of their six previous meetings. Indeed, Rybakina's deep, imposing hitting in the early stages again troubled Swiatek, who misfired on multiple forehands to cede a 5-3 lead to the Kazakh.

Staring down another deficit against Rybakina, Swiatek clicked into gear, accelerating through rally groundstrokes and breaking back for 5-5 on her fourth break point of that game. Swiatek then had two set points at 6-5, but Rybakina powered through a 13-minute game to hold on and scrap into the tiebreak.

After the first eight points of the breaker went to the returner, Rybakina fired two consecutive backhands long to give Swiatek another pair of set points. Swiatek converted her fourth chance after 72 minutes to narrowly close out the first set.

After missing out on two early break points in the second set, Swiatek took control for good by breaking Rybakina at love for a 4-3 lead. Swiatek had to use exceptional defense to save one break point in the final game, and the former World No.1 held on for the win. Swiatek now holds a 12-1 singles record at United Cup.

In the day’s opening match, Hurkacz continued his short and long-term redemption at the United Cup by dismissing Shevchenko 6-3, 6-2.

After losing both his singles matches in group play to Casper Ruud and Tomas Machac, Hurkacz backed up his quarter-final win over Billy Harris with a 58-minute victory over the Kazakhstani.

Hurkacz last year held two championship points in the tournament final against Alexander Zverev only to see the current World No. 2 rally to a comeback win and then team with Laura Siegemund to beat him and Swiatek in the deciding mixed doubles.

“The last match here gave me a little bit of confidence and I’ve been playing better with every single match,” Hurkacz said.

After struggling against the weight of shot in his defeats to Ruud and Machac, World No. 16 Hurkacz was the one to dictate from the baseline against Shevchenko. He was also dominated on serve, putting 76 per cent of his first deliveries into play, winning 80 per cent of first-serve points and 73 per cent of second-serve points.

Shevchenko played his best tennis early in the second set when he had more success moving Hurkacz out of the centre of the court, but after missing a 30-all opportunity in the fourth game, he made three unforced errors to get broken to love in the following game and never recovered.


Hurkacz now leads Shevchenko 4-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

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Iga winning in straight sets against Rybakina on the fast courts of Australia is the best beginning to 2025 I could have asked for.

Talk about an absolute confidence booster before the start of Austalian Open. 

Really liked Iga's demeaner in this match she stayed calm despite nerves and tension. 

She was mixing up her spins, varying heights on her shots, relying on her amazing defense instead of ball bashing and trying to outhit Rybakina. 

She even varied her position on return.  Nothing but positives to take away from this one. Wim's calming influence is slowly but surely taking effect. 

If Poland ends up playing USA I hope Iga can make it a shorter one against Gauff for the sake of her leg (skipping mixed was definitely wise for the extra rest before tomorrow).

Iga Swiatek secures semis for Team Poland in dramatic 3 set marathon vs Britain at United Cup

 

Iga Swiatek sealed the win for Poland over Great Britain at the United Cup quarterfinals, boosting last year's runner-up into Saturday's final four with a 6-7(4) 6-1, 6-4 win over Katie Boulter. On the heels of Hubert Hurkacz's 7-6(3), 7-5 opening win over Billy Harris, Swiatek's victory secured Poland an insurmountable 2-0 lead.


"This match was crazy," Swiatek said. "So many changes of momentum. I thought I had it under control in the first set but for sure I got tight and I didn't work on it. I didn't want to repeat the mistake in the third."


Poland will face Kazakhstan for a spot in its second straight United Cup final. Last year, Poland held championship points before losing to Germany.

In the first career meeting between Swiatek and Boulter, No.24 Boulter stood toe-to-toe with Swiatek from the baseline. She matched the former No.1 in pace and power in the first set. The United Cup has consistently brought out the best from Boulter, who scored the first Top 5 win of her career last year against Jessica Pegula in group play.

But the stakes were higher on Thursday night at Ken Rosewall Arena, where Great Britain came in as a heavy underdog against the experienced Polish side, which advanced to its third straight United Cup semifinal.

Swiatek earned an early 3-0 lead in the first set by fighting off four break points in the longest game of the match to consolidate her early break. She extended the lead to 4-1 but Boulter's ability to trouble Swiatek from the baseline with her flat hitting laid the foundation for the Briton's comeback.

Boulter's backhand was the shot that ultimately turned the tables. While Swiatek struggled to find her baseline consistency, Boulter came back to force the tiebreak. There, Boulter struck back-to-back backhand winners to take the 74-minute set.

The physical effort took its toll on Boulter. Swiatek responded immediately by securing a double-break lead, which she parlayed into a 6-1 second set. After striking 17 winners in the first set, Swiatek held Boulter to just four in the second.

But after failing to see a break point in the second set, Boulter broke at love to earn the early edge at 2-1 in the deciding set. Swiatek took an off-court medical timeout and returned with strapping on her upper right leg. On the resumption, Swiatek won eight consecutive points to put the set back in the balance.

The final set came down to the wire with both women finding her best when it mattered. Serving down 4-3, Boulter saved two break points with gritty baseline play, besting the Pole in two extended rallies. Swiatek responded by painting the sideline to wipe out a break-point chance for Boulter and move ahead 5-4. It would be Swiatek's final service game, as the WTA's best returner broke Boulter at love to take the 2-hour and 57-minute win.

"I tried to keep pushing knowing that I had to keep up the quality," Swiatek said, "because with quality I wouldn't have to play these longer rallies if I'm more precise. But for sure it's harder to be precise under so much pressure.

"But I made it today. For sure it's a step forward. In some moments I knew I could be more brave and in the end I was able to so I was happy."

Earlier, Hurkacz clawed past Billy Harris 7-6(3), 7-5 to give Poland the early 1-0 lead. Hurkacz walked into Ken Rosewall Arena having lost both of his singles matches in Group B action. But the United Cup veteran, who has competed in the mixed-teams event in all three editions, was cool under pressure against tournament newcomer Harris.

“Definitely super pleased with myself,” Hurkacz said. “Today was a really difficult battle with Billy. He was playing some really great tennis and definitely really happy to get through this one.”

The Pole saved all three break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats and relied on his dominant first delivery, winning 88 per cent of his first-serve points.

Harris, the No. 125 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, served well himself, only losing serve once in the one-hour, 45-minute match. But in the critical moments, he was not as solid.

The Briton missed a backhand long to lose the first set and missed another one in the net at 5-5 in the second set to lose serve for the only time in the match.

“This win is so crucial for me to get more confidence and get another match in,” Hurkacz said.

It was the 150th tour-level hard-court win of Hurkacz’s career and more importantly for Team Poland, he is now 5-0 against players outside the world’s Top 30 at the United Cup. He fell to World No. 6 Casper Ruud and World No. 25 Tomas Machac in group play.

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Have to say I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this first meeting with Katie Boulter. But I was a little surprised it turned into quite a physical battle. 

Iga should have won it in 2, Katie did steal the break back down 1-4 with clear winners. But those minibreaks lost in the first set breaker could have clinched it.

The medical time out for Iga and the strapping on the upper thigh is a little concerning right before AO (and of course having to face Rybakina next). 

Hopefully it's just muscle pain, and nothing that can't be cured with some physical therapy and some rest. 

Four pain killers is quite a lot though. Hopefully her movement isn't too hindered on Saturday.

Good to see Poland finally pull it together as team with Hubi finally winning his first match of the season, and Jan and Maja winning mixed doubles without Iga or Hubi.

Hopefully they can show that same support against Kazakhstan because Iga is gonna need it. 

Team Poland defeat Czechia to reach United Cup quarterfinals once more

Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz clinched their country's place atop Group B on Wednesday, defeating the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova and Tomas Machac 7-6(3), 6-3 to seal the critical tie 2-1 and book Poland into its third United Cup quarterfinals.

Poland will face Great Britain for a spot in the semifinals on Thursday.

"Honestly I was sure they were going to play amazing tennis because they have always great teams in doubles and mixed doubles. They are kind of raised that way," Swiatek said. "But I knew that we have the game to win it. For sure we were leading from the beginning.

"In the first set it got tight at the end, but I kind of felt that we were leading anyway so in the tie-break we just used that. In the end it seemed that we had everything under control."

Both countries knew that they would move into the last eight of the mixed-teams competition with a win in the tie. But it was last year's runners-up who found a way through the tie to top their group and advance.

Hurkacz delivered his duo's 12th ace of the match to emerge victorious after one hour and 25 minutes. The Poles broke serve five times from 11 chances against the Czechs.

"Iga is just so solid and you really can count on her shots," Hurkacz said.

The Czechs can still earn a spot in the quarterfinals by finishing as the best-placed second-placed country in Sydney. Machac, Muchova and the rest of their team will need to follow Wednesday evening's Australia-Great Britain tie closely.

Earlier, World No.2 Swiatek notched a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 victory over Muchova to deliver her 10th career United Cup singles victory.

“Honestly, I love playing against Karolina because she always brings precision and intensity and a little bit of a different game than most of the girls,” Swiatek said. “So for sure it’s a challenge. I’m happy that even though I lost my serve when I thought it’s going to be easier, I’m happy that I got my intensity even higher in the last two games to break again.”

Swiatek leveled the Group B tie at one win apiece, after Machac had earlier moved the Czech Republic to the brink of the United Cup quarterfinals with a tense win against Hurkacz.

“Obviously I knew what’s at stake,” Swiatek said, “so in tough moments I just tried to loosen up my hand and force myself to not change any movements because of any thoughts. That’s the most important thing in tennis, to try and use your intuition as much as possible and I think I did that in the last rallies for sure.”

The tie will now come down to the mixed doubles, with the winner automatically grabbing one of the precious quarterfinal spots in the knockout stages.

World No.22 Muchova had troubled Swiatek in the past, garnering a win in their first meeting at 2019 Prague and pushing the Pole to three sets in their other two meetings, most notably a closely-contested Roland Garros final in 2023.

Indeed, a deep service return by Muchova gave the Czech the first break of the day and a 2-1 lead. But that initial stumble jolted Swiatek’s heavy groundstrokes into top form and she racked up four games in a row to lead 5-2.

Serving at 5-3, Swiatek swatted away two break points with backhand winners and grabbed the one-set lead. Both players were 6-for-9 at the net in the opening frame, but Swiatek was a perfect 2-for-2 on break points.

In the second set, Muchova clawed back from a break down to level proceedings at 4-4, but Swiatek found a pair of blistering backhands to reclaim the break and serve for the match. The former World No.1 needed to save one more break point, but wrapped up the win with a winning volley after 1 hour and 56 minutes of play.

In the day’s first match, Hurkacz won six more total points in a one-hour, 55-minute clash, but Machac persevered to emerge victorious 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 and give the Czech Republic the 1-0 lead.

“It was a difficult match from the beginning. I was a little bit tired from the match with Casper [Ruud],” Machac said. “It was a great match and Hubi is an unbelievable player. It’s always a pleasure to share the court with him. In the end, I was just fighting. I’m really happy with my mental [game] in the end.”

In Hurkacz and Machac’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in last year’s Marseille quarterfinals, Hurkacz did not face a break point in a straight-sets victory.

Machac, who lost a nearly three-hour battle in his opening match of the season against Norway’s Casper Ruud, received leg rubs from coach and captain Daniel Vacek in the Team Zone during changeovers. He struggled to deal with his opponent’s second serve, as Hurkacz won a whopping 70 per cent of points behind his second delivery according to Infosys ATP Stats.

But seemingly out of the blue, Machac earned match point at 5-4 on the Pole’s serve. While Hurkacz saved a break point at 3-4 in the decider with a big backhand up the line, he could not stave off trouble again, launching a forehand long.

Machac roared in celebration and enjoyed the moment with Vacek just outside the Team Zone.

“In the end I was trying to be more aggressive, to push myself to the court,” Machac said. “It was great.”

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Hubi is yet to win in singles since his return, but at least he showed up a bit for Iga in the doubles. Seems like that new racket is still gonna take him some time to get used to.


Hopefully the win with Iga yesterday propels him to do better against Great Britain in singles tomorrow.


Iga was outstanding against Muchova (sure Muchova may not have served at her usual level had more double faults).


But Muchova is the type of player who doesn't necessarily need her serve to win a match.


It was quite a battle and Iga had to work hard to return a lot of extra shots. If she can show this level in Melbourne in a few weeks I will feel like I have died and gone to tennis fan's heaven.