Iga Swiatek survives United Cup tussle with Katie Boulter, clinches semifinal spot for Poland

Iga Swiatek is showing all of her mettle to start the 2025 season, the former world No. 1 rallying from a set down to survive Katie Boulter, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4 in the United Cup quarterfinals.

"I'm just exhausted!" Swiatek exclaimed after spending nearly three hours on court, adding with a laugh, "I'm happy that I won so I don't have to play mixed doubles!"

The win gave Team Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead over Great Britain and booked Swiatek and teammate Hubert Hurkacz a semifinal spot against Kazakhstan.

"This match was crazy," Swiatek continued, "so many changes of momentum. I thought I had it under control in the first set, but for sure I got tight and didn't work on it. I didn't want to repeat the same mistake in the third. I took, like, four pain-killers because a lot hurt. But I'm happy we won, and I'm for sure going to use the day off tomorrow."

Hurkacz opened the tie with a tense two-set victory over Billy Harris, but Boulter looked to turn the tables on Poland early on against Swiatek, erasing a 1-4 deficit in the first set to win it in a tiebreaker.

Undaunted, Swiatek, who ended the 2024 season in a new coaching dynamic with Wim Fissette, took another big lead in the second set, this time holding on to force a decider.

"Sometimes I get too excited and play too flat, and I think Katie likes this kind of ball, so I wasn't helping myself when I wanted to go fast and flat. The key in my game is always to spin. So, I need to stay committed to that, which is not easy sometimes because you feel like because it's a fast court and that, maybe if you hit fast, it's going to make an impact. But it's not all about speed, so this is something I'm working on and try to keep doing."

The four-time Grand Slam champion emerged from an early exchange of breaks in the final set and saved a crucial break point in the ninth game, breaking at love to clinch victory in nearly three hours.

"I tried to keep pushing, knowing I needed to keep up the quality, because I might not have to play as many long rallies if I'm more precise. But for sure, it's hard to be precise under so much pressure. I made it today, so it's for sure a step forward and there were some moments where I knew I could be more brave. At the end, I was able to, so I'm happy."

Swiatek will likely face her biggest test of the week up next in Kazakhstan, led by rival Elena Rybakina. The 2022 Wimbledon champion is yet to drop a set this week in Perth and leads their head-to-head 4-2.

In the quarterfinals, Rybakina made quick work of Laura Siegemund to lead Kazakhstan to a 2-1 win over Germany.