Sydney (Australia) – For the second year in a row, Poland will play in the United Cup final in their quest for a coveted title in this international competition. Once again, the team is buoyed by an exceptional week from Iga Swiatek, who recorded her fourth consecutive singles victory, accompanied by two doubles victories in the group stage. The world number 2 triumphed over Elena Rybakina, currently ranked sixth, with a score of 7/6 (7-5) and 6/4 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 3 minutes, sealing the tie against Kazakhstan with a 2-0 result.
This is Swiatek’s third victory in seven meetings against Rybakina on the circuit. The Kazakh won their last face-to-face in the Stuttgart semi-finals on clay, but the Polish player took the upper hand for the second time in a row on hard, having previously beaten Rybakina in the Doha final last February. Poland now awaits the outcome of the match between the United States and the Czech Republic.
Saturday’s semi-final began with a crushing victory for Hubert Hurkacz, 16th in the world, against Alexander Shevchenko, 78th, with a score of 6/3 and 6/2. Hurkacz maintains a perfect record against Shevchenko in their four matches on the professional circuit. Although the overall tie has been decided, a doubles match will still take place, with each victory in the United Cup worth points in the standings, but it is likely that the captains will field players who have had fewer chances throughout. throughout the week.
Although it was a clash between two players displaying aggressive tennis, there was a notable contrast in styles between the Kazakh’s more direct strokes and the Pole’s spin-heavy strikes. Rybakina was the first to break, leading 3/2, taking advantage of a moment when Swiatek was having difficulty with her serve and forehand. Rybakina maintained her lead without facing break points until she led 5/3.
Swiatek’s response came just when she needed it most. She held her serve to stay alive in the set then took advantage of a series of errors from Rybakina to create her first break opportunities. Rybakina served well at times during the break points she faced, but the relentless pressure ultimately resulted in a break.
The world number 2 even had two set points when leading 6/5, but Rybakina managed to survive a long 13-minute service game. The set ended in a tiebreak, which started with some difficulty for the servers until it reached 3-3. Swiatek then took the advantage by exploiting a surge at the net from his opponent to make it 4-3. Even after allowing the score to be leveled by missing a forehand on the next point, she regained the advantage immediately afterwards. She finally concluded the set on her fourth opportunity.
The second set started with Swiatek easily holding her serve and creating several break points on Rybakina’s service games. When the Kazakh lowered her intensity and started making more mistakes, Swiatek took the opportunity to break without losing a point to lead 4/3. Serving for the match, the Polish player saved the only break point she faced in the set, surviving a lengthy rally from the baseline. In another long point, she took advantage of a net error from Rybakina to close the match in straight sets.
