Poland were the top favourites ahead of the 2024 United Cup, and they are proving that label to be true as Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz sent the country into the event's final
Not many countries were able to field two Top 10 players for their singles matches, as the majority of the countries participating at the 2024 United Cup had one very strong singles player, but not such a big presence on the other Tour.
Take for example Norway, where the world no. 11, Casper Ruud played men's singles matches, while the world no. 544, Malene Helgo, played women's singles matches.
Such a difference is not palpable in the Polish team as the WTA's world no. 1, Iga Swiatek, is nicely joined in her efforts by ATP's world no. 9, Hubert Hurkacz.
In some of the previous ties, Hurkacz struggled a bit, and Swiatek had to pull off double duty to secure her country's win, but that was not the case in their semifinal match against France.
In the first match of the tie, Hurkacz took on Adrian Mannarino, and it was a flawless performance from the Pole, who did not face a single break point, and hit incredible 15 aces only in two sets of play.
Hurkacz broke his opponent's serve once in each set, using two of his five break points, but since he did not face any, it was enough for a comfortable win over the Frenchman, 6-3, 7-5.
Although a quick win from Swiatek was expected after that, her opponent, Caroline Garcia, was able to fight for the win, or at least for one set. The Frenchwoman faced three break points early in the first set, but she saved all of them thanks to her powerful serve.
After that, Garcia created two break point chances for herself, and using one of those was enough thanks to a solid serving performance to win the first set of the match 6-4.
But Garcia could not follow up on her great first-set performance in the following sets, as Swiatek was just too strong to overcome. The Polish player won the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, sending her country to the 2024 United Cup final, which will be a maiden appearance in the title match for her country.
After the tie was decided, a mixed doubles match was still played, as both countries fielded their lower-ranked players, who would normally not get a chance to show their qualities at such a tournament.
Also in this match, Poland's Katerzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski overcame France's Elixane Lechemia and Eduard Roger-Vasseling, winning 6-3, 6-3.
In the final of the 2024 United Cup, Poland will await the winner of the tie between Germany and Australia, which is played as the second semifinal tie on Saturday.
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