By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, January 2, 2025
Iga Swiatek rallied past Katie Boulter 6-7(4) 6-1, 6-4 to clinch Poland's win over Great Britain and a return to the United Cup semifinals.
Photo credit: Steve Christo/Corbis/Getty
Iga Swiatek unleashed a fierce finish propelling Poland back to the United Cup semifinals.
Swiatek stormed through seven straight points out-dueling Katie Boulter 6-7(4) 6-1, 6-4 to give Poland insurmountable 2-0 lead over Great Britain in Sydney.
Kyrgios: Biggest Serve By Far
Poland, the 2024 United Cup runner-up to Germany, will play Kazakhstan for a spot in the United Cup final.
The United States will play either reigning Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup champion Italy or Czechia for a place n the final.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek beat Boulter after her mixed doubles partner, Hubert Hurkacz, staked Poland to a 1-0 lead with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win over Billy Harris.
Swiatek squandered a 4-1 first-set lead and a 4-3 lead in the opening tiebreaker as Boulter reeled off four points in a row snatching a one-set lead.
"This match was crazy," Swiatek said. "So many changes of momentum. I thought I had it under control in the first set but for sure I got tight and I didn't work on it. I didn't want to repeat the mistake in the third."
Shakng off the first set, Swiatek sped to a 4-0 second-set lead and broke to force a decider.
Deadlocked at 4-all in the decider, Boulter earned a break point at 30-40. Swiatek stopped stress storming through seven straight points scoring the semifinal-clinching win.
Poland has unfinished business this week.
A year ago, Poland came achingly close to capturing the United Cup, but Germany saved a championship point and roared back to win.
Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund played a commanding tiebreaker defeating Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek 6-4, 5-7, 10-4 to capture the United Cup with a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over Poland in Sydney on January 7, 2024.
The dramatic duel ended at 12:45 a.m. local time at Ken Rosewall Arena with German captain Torben Beltz vowing to keep the victory party pumping all night long after a second straight late-night rousing rally from his team that was very nearly down and out.
This time, Poland is intent on collecting the Cup.