Swiatek, Hurkacz take Poland to United Cup final for the second year in a row
Poland will play either the United States or Czechia in Sunday’s final
Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
Poland is through to the United Cup final for the second year in a row after Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek scored wins over their Kazakh rivals in Sydney on Sunday.
Hurkacz gave Poland a 1-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Alexander Shevchenko, his fourth win in as many matches over the Kazakh.
“The last match here gave me a little bit of confidence and I’ve been playing better with every single match,” Hurkacz said as quoted by the United Cup website.
In the second singles match, Swiatek came out a winner in a tough straight sets battle over Elena Rybakina 7-6(5), 6-4 to give the Poles an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
“I think that’s the first time I was able to win with Elena on a faster surface, so it means a lot. I for sure didn’t start well, I felt like I [was] on the hand-brake a bit,” Swiatek said. “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.”
This was Swiatek’s third win in seven career meetings over Rybakina. Poland, who went down to Germany in last year’s final, will play either the United States or Czechia in the final on Sunday.
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