Poland's title to lose? Iga Swiatek, Hubert Hurkacz propel nation to United Cup semifinals

Can Poland be stopped at the United Cup?

The top-seeded nation led by Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz has returned to the semifinals of the mixed gender team event for a second year running after winning the first of two quarterfinals staged in Perth Wednesday.

A day after Swiatek joked with press that she was teaching Hurkacz not to play tiebreakers, her countryman followed the lesson plan by securing the first point of the day over China. Hurkacz defeated Zhang Zhizhen, 6-3, 6-4, firing 10 aces en route to holding in all of his service games.

Swiatek then followed suit by erasing an immediate break deficit to roll past Zheng Qinwen, 6-2, 6-3, for her 14th straight win dating back to her scorching finish to the 2023 season.

From 0-2 down, the four-time major champion strung together nine consecutive games to seize control before her opponent got back on serve in the second set with a three-game run. Swiatek then claimed the final three games, improving to 5-0 against the 2023 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year, with her latest performance marking the second of their series to be completed in straight sets.

Poland is looking to better its 2023 result, a semifinal showing that ended with a loss at the hands of the eventual champion United States squad. The inaugural format of the competition involved five matches—two women’s singles, two men’s singles and one mixed doubles—deciding the outcomes of ties, but it was reduced to one contest of each discipline this year.

Swiatek, Hurkacz and their teammates will now fly to Sydney, where they await the winner of France and Norway to be played Saturday.

“For sure Bondi Beach is waiting for us,” a smiling Swiatek said on court afterwards. “But for now, we gotta focus on the semifinal and hopefully the final. I’m really happy with my game and also how the atmosphere in the team is.”

France advanced Wednesday in Sydney after Adrian Mannarino and Caroline Garcia guided their country past Italy.

Mannarino notably needed to take a medical timeout for self-inflicted bleeding after he smacked the butt of his racquet on his forehead, but nevertheless closed out a 6-4, 6-4 win over Lorenzo Sonego. Garcia fended off Jasmine Paolini, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, to seal the Group D tie.

Serbia and host Australia are due to square off later in Perth, with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic expected to face Alex de Minaur.