Iga Swiatek easily overcame an initial challenge from Caroline Garcia and maintained her impressive form before the Australian Open by securing Poland’s spot in the final of the United Cup.
On Saturday, the top-ranked player won the match 4-6 6-1 6-1 after adjusting her gameplay to pull ahead when French player Garcia made an early move.
This was the first instance in which the 22-year-old lost a set since October of last year, coincidentally against Garcia as well.
However, the Pole displayed a determined attitude, quickly moving past the setback and continuing her streak of 15 consecutive undefeated matches.
Swiatek emerged victorious after Hubert Hurkacz, ranked 9th in the world for men’s tennis, defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3 7-5, securing a 2-0 lead for Poland with the mixed doubles match still remaining.
Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski secured a 3-0 victory for the Polish team in the mixed doubles, with a final score of 6-3 6-3. This win guarantees their spot in the final on Sunday.
Poland will go up against the victor of the Australia-Germany match in the championship game, which will take place in Sydney on Saturday.
“I had to make a significant mental adjustment because I was feeling impatient,” stated Swiatek.
“I was behaving recklessly and I needed to be more calm and collected.”
“Following the break in between the first set, I returned with a greater sense of concentration. Therefore, I am quite pleased with my performance.”
Swiatek claimed that her slow beginning was due to the change in location.
Poland had spent the early rounds of the United Cup in Perth and the reigning French Open champion said the Ken Rosewall Arena surface took some getting used to.
“Despite the similarities in surface, I personally felt slightly out of my rhythm,” stated Swiatek.
“I realized that I needed to give my brain some time to process it.”
With the exception of a challenging second set against the 22nd ranked player Mannarino, Hurkacz had a relatively straightforward victory, wrapping it up in one hour and 41 minutes.
Hurkacz dominated with his first serve, winning 31 out of 36 points and unleashing 15 aces against Mannarino.
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Hurkacz stated that Adrian is a formidable opponent and playing against him is challenging.
“You must have patience while running a significant distance, as it can be a challenging battle against him. I am very pleased with the outcome.”
The top-ranked team in the competition, Poland, has only suffered one defeat throughout the entire tournament.
Last year, they made it to the semi-finals of the tournament. They will feel confident going up against either Germany or an Australian team led by Alex de Minaur and Alja Tomljanovic.
Alexander Zverev, ranked 7th in the world, is the next opponent for Alex de Minaur, Australia’s top player, following his victory over Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
However, Zverev has a 6-1 advantage in head-to-head matches against the 12th-ranked player in the world.
Zverev stated that our last game was in Rome 2022, which was a while ago.
There have been some changes. I believe he has improved significantly and is now close to reaching the top 10.
“He will be highly driven, and the entire Australian team will share that same motivation.”
Source: theguardian.com
