Swiatek rallies as Poland book United Cup final berth

Murray Wenzel | January 6, 2024

World No.1 Iga Swiatek responded emphatically to Carolina Garcia’s early challenge to book Poland’s passage to a maiden United Cup final.

Swiatek won 4-6 6-1 6-1 on Saturday, tidying up her game to run away with the match after France star Garcia threw an early punch.

Her victory followed world No.9  Hubert Hurkacz’s 6-3 7-5 defeat of Adrian Mannarino, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead with the mixed doubles still to play.

They’ll face the winner of Australia or Germany, who will play in Sydney later on Saturday.

Hurkacz called the shots in a comfortable first set then overcame world No.22 Mannarino’s awkward style in an even second set.

The Pole ripped a forehand to break in the 11th game then zoomed through his service game to seal it in one hour and 41 minutes.

Hurkacz won 31 of 36 points when landing his first serve and bombed 15 aces past Mannarino.

“He’s really difficult to play against; I was just fighting for every point and I was able stay positive and was really resilient today,” Hurkacz said.

Polish star Swiatek then secured their passage with victory over world No.20 Caroline Garcia in the next fixture.

The top seeds lost just one match in the group stage of the tournament in Perth before thumping China 3-0 to reach the final four for the second-straight year.

Alex de Minaur and Ajla Tomljanovic will power Australia’s charge against Germany.

World No.7 Alexander Zverev is de Minaur’s next target after Australia’s No.1 took down Novak Djokovic in Wednesday’s quarter-final.

But Zverev holds a 6-1 head-to-head edge over the world No.12.

“The last time we played was Rome 2022, so that’s a while back,” Zverev said. 

“Things have changed a little bit. I think he’s gotten a lot better, closing in on the top 10 as well.

“He’s going to be very motivated and the whole team, Australia, is going to be very motivated.”