United Cup final: Poland meets USA in the final

After a dramatic end in the semi-finals in Sydney, Poland will face the USA in the final of the mixed United Cup on Sunday.

Iga Swiatek defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets to seal her team’s victory over Kazakhstan, while the USA won 2-0 against the Czech Republic.

Coco Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-4 in the women’s singles before Czech player Tomas Machac was eliminated 7-6 (7-4), 5-6 by Taylor Fritz.

“He said he’d had cramps for a few games – I didn’t notice,” said Fritz, who fought back from two match points and was serving in the second set as Machac approached the net to score.

“He moved pretty well, but I guess he played through it and fought it.”

“It’s really humid here. That’s something I considered as a possibility – if I could win that set and take him to a third, he might get cramps later. It’s difficult conditions and it was a physical game.”

In the previous semi-final, Swiatek, number two in the world, gave Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead with a 7:6 (7:5) and 6:4 win over sixth-placed Rybakina.

Hubert Hurkacz had previously got Poland on its way with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Alexander Shevchenko in the men’s singles.

“This victory makes me really proud – it is perfect preparation for the Australian Open,” said Swiatek, referring to the first major of the year, which begins on January 12th in Melbourne.

Swiatek never made it past the semifinals of the Australian Open, although she won the US Open on the same hard court surface and won her other four Grand Slam titles at the French Open on clay.

The 23-year-old Pole, playing with a strap on her right thigh, was forced to reach a tie-break in the first set after Rybakina parried two set points before pulling away.