Photo: Xinhua
German tennis players raise the United Cup trophy above their heads after defeating Poland in the final in Sydney on January 8, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the United Cup website). Germany completed the turnaround, beating Poland 2-1 to claim the United Cup winner's trophy.
SYDNEY, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- World No. 7 Alexander Zverev put in a heroic performance to help Germany overcome Poland's favourite Iga Swiatek in a dramatic Mixed Team Cup final in Sydney.
After the top-seeded Swiatek swept Angelique Kerber in straight sets, Zverev levelled the match by overcoming two match points and fatigue to beat Hubert Hurkacz 6:7 (3), 7:6 (6), 6:4 in a three-hour thriller.
Zverev then teamed with Laura Siegemund to defeat Swiatek and Hurkacze 6-4, 5-7, 10-4 and Germany won its first United Cup title early Monday morning.
The indefatigable Zverev showed excellent fitness and mental strength after recovering from a gruelling semi-final against Australia, where he lost in three sets to Alex de Minaur, to help Germany with a decisive mixed doubles match at 2.20pm local time on Sunday.
Swiatek secured the lead for Poland after winning her fifth consecutive match at the Ken Rosewall Arena with a convincing 6-3, 6-0 victory over former world number one Angelique Kerber.
Twenty-two-year-old Swiatek notched her 16th straight win, stretching back to a strong finish last year when she won the China Open and the WTA Finals in Mexico.
Swiatek has already collected four Grand Slam titles, but has never reached the final of the Australian Open, with her best result being a semi-final in 2022.
The Pole thwarted an early challenge from Kerber, who was playing in her first event after an 18-month break due to maternity leave.
Kerber was on a roll in the first set before Swiatek upped her level, took control and strode to victory in 70 minutes.
"I'm really proud of myself that I was able to win all my singles matches," Swiatek said. "[Kerber] really picked the right spot to play and sometimes she surprised me at the beginning of the set with her decision-making and her selection. I felt my game could be more dynamic, and after 4-3 [in the first set] I just pushed Angelique a little bit more."
Germany's title hopes rested with Zverev and he proved he still had plenty of strength when he took a tense first set against ninth seed Hurkacz. Hurkacz picked himself up in the tiebreak to draw first blood and hoped to put the supposedly tired Zverev away.
However, the attacking German showed a courageous performance and saved two match points in the tiebreak, the first one with an incredible crosscourt winner at 6:4. He forced a deciding set and found a way to carve out a memorable victory, despite looking exhausted on several occasions.
"I was exhausted," Zverev said. "I was exhausted in the middle of the second set and in the third set I held on for a long time and somehow managed to get the break."
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