Weakened by the withdrawal of Alexander Zverev, world number two, defending champion Germany was eliminated on Wednesday from the United Cup in Australia by Kazakhstan in the quarter-final of this competition between nations contested by mixed teams.
The United States also qualified for the semi-finals on Wednesday, to the detriment of China.
Zverev withdrew on Wednesday due to a biceps strain, just over ten days before the Australian Open. The 27-year-old won his first two matches of the season in this United Cup against the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro and the Chinese Zheng Zhizhen. His withdrawal seems a priori motivated more by caution than by the seriousness of the injury.
After the first defeat of his compatriot Laura Siegemund against Elena Rybakina (6-1, 6-1), Zverev was replaced for the second singles by Daniel Masur (254th in the world), who also lost against Alexander Shevchenko (N °78) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2.
Zverev, still chasing a maiden Grand Slam title, began the new season with high ambitions after finishing 2024 ranked second in the world, winning more matches than anyone except Italian Jannik Sinner.
The Australian Open begins on January 12. The German reached the semi-finals in Melbourne in 2020 and 2024.
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