Poland defeated Australia in the United Cup quarter-finals held in Sydney, securing their place in the semi-finals against the United States. The tie was decided by a mixed doubles match after the singles rubbers were split, with Iga Swiatek winning for Poland and Alex de Minaur winning for Australia. Poland's Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski ultimately won the decisive mixed doubles match.
Quarter-final Tie Overview
The United Cup quarter-final tie between Poland and Australia concluded with Poland securing a victory to advance to the semi-final stage. The event took place in Sydney.
Singles Match Results
The tie featured two singles matches:
- Iga Swiatek (Poland) vs. Maya Joint (Australia): Poland's Iga Swiatek, ranked World No. 2, defeated Australia's Maya Joint 6-1, 6-1. The match lasted approximately 57-58 minutes. Swiatek won six consecutive games after Joint held her initial serve in the first set. This marked Swiatek's second career win over Joint and her 15th singles victory at the United Cup.
- Alex de Minaur (Australia) vs. Hubert Hurkacz (Poland): Australia's Alex de Minaur leveled the tie by defeating Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The match lasted two hours and 20 minutes. De Minaur saved 10 of Hurkacz's 11 break-point opportunities throughout the match, including nine break points across his first four service games. This was De Minaur's eighth win in 11 United Cup singles appearances.
Deciding Mixed Doubles Match
With the singles matches split at one win each, the quarter-final outcome was determined by a mixed doubles encounter:
- Poland was represented by Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski.
- Australia was represented by Storm Hunter and John-Patrick Smith.
- Kawa and Zielinski secured the win for Poland with a score of 6-4, 6-0 in 1 hour and 3 minutes, thus sealing their team's advancement in the tournament.
Australia's captain, Lleyton Hewitt, stated that Alex de Minaur was rested from the mixed doubles match to manage his workload. Hewitt noted that de Minaur had been experiencing "a few tweaks" and the decision was made to prevent potential injury ahead of the Australian Open, which is scheduled to begin on January 18.
Semi-Finals Schedule
Following their victory, Poland is slated to compete against the defending champion United States in the semi-finals. The other semi-final match will feature Belgium against Switzerland.