Iga Swiatek blasts Poland past France and into United Cup tennis final against Germany

SYDNEY – Slow and steady wins the race – that was how it was like for four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in her United Cup tennis clash against France in Sydney on Jan 6.

The 22-year-old and teammate Hubert Hurkacz swept top seeds Poland into the final on Jan 7 with a hard-fought win.

Hurkacz, at a career-high ninth in the world, defeated left-hander Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-5 before world No. 1 Swiatek toppled Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

They will play Alexander Zverev’s Germany in the mixed-team competition decider in the lead-up to the Jan 14-28 Australian Open. It is the first final for Poland, who lost in the semi-finals in 2023 to eventual champions the United States.

“I’m happy that I came back and I didn’t make so many mistakes as in the first set,” Swiatek said.

“For sure, Caro was putting pressure as usual, so I’m happy that we’re through to the final.

“Sometimes, it’s a bit hard to point (to) one thing that changed (after the first set). I just feel like I needed to calm down a little bit and not rush it, and also observe the ball a little bit more.

“For sure, I needed some time to adjust, and I did that, so I’m happy.”

Garcia was France’s saviour in their 2-1 win over Norway in the quarter-finals, coming through a titanic struggle against unheralded Malene Helgo, then backing up to win in mixed doubles.

She again displayed her fighting spirit in breaking Swiatek for a 4-3 lead and taking the first set in 43 minutes.

But that was as good as it got for the world No. 20, who folded as Swiatek moved through the gears to dominate the rest of the match.

The Pole grabbed the momentum back in the second set, surging to a 5-0 lead before converting her third set point at 5-1. A break to love in the opening game of the deciding set deflated Garcia, with Swiatek largely untroubled as she raced to the finish line.

According to Opta statistics, Swiatek has now claimed her 15th consecutive WTA match win. She did it only once previously, when she went on to claim 37 straight victories, in 2022.

Hurkacz also played well in the critical moments and held serve with few problems to close out his match.

“Today definitely was a real battle,” said the 26-year-old, who won the Shanghai Masters in 2023 and also tasted victory at Marseille.

“Adrian was playing really, really tricky shots and it’s difficult to play against.

“So I was just battling for every single point and I think mentally I was able to stay in the present, stay positive before each point and I was also really resilient today.”

The second semi-final was an epic. Angelique Kerber gave the Germans the lead when she beat Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7). But hosts Australia drew level after Alex de Minaur fought back to defeat Zverev 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

In the mixed doubles decider, Laura Siegemund and Zverev beat Storm Hunter and Matthew Ebden 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (2-7), 15-13. AFP