United Cup: Hubert Hurkacz's heroics sees Poland triumph over Kazakhstan

Brisbane [Australia], January 2 : Hubert Hurkacz defeated Alexander Bublik 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-3 to give Poland a 2-1 lead over Kazakhstan in the United Cup on Sunday.
Magda Linette then finished the job, as Hurkacz/Iga Swiatek completed a 4-1 triumph for their country. Linette, the world No 48, grabbed the winning shots for Poland by defeating Kazakhstan's Zhibek Kulambayeva 6-2, 6-1 in Brisbane.
"Following Hubi was great. Watching that match from them was nerve-wracking. But it was really nice coming with the advantage of knowing he won. It was great and I just did my job," said the Polish player as quoted by ATPTour.com.
Hurkacz's match appeared to be headed for a final-set tie-break between two of the top servers on the ATP Tour, but Hurkacz was opportunistic at the most crucial time. At 4-3 and on his third break point, the Pole hit a well-placed return deep in the court to put Bublik on the back foot.
He then rushed forward and executed a flawless half-volley to set up an easy putaway.
Hurkacz did not display any signs of nerves as he approached the serving line to claim the victory. The victory came after two hours and nine minutes thanks to the Pole's tenacious defence and his 18th match-winning ace.
"It was a lot of fun to play against Sascha. I think that the quality was really high. It was the first match of the new year on the first [day of the year], so that was pretty good. I'm really happy with the quality and it was definitely a fun match. It was a lot of fun to play in front of such a great crowd. I've never been in Brisbane and I really love it here so thanks guys for coming," said Hurkacz.
Hurkacz has won four straight matches against Bublik and now holds a 4-1 advantage in their ATP head-to-head series. Bublik served up 15 aces and fended off three of his four break points, but his final service game proved to be his downfall.
In her opening game of the year, Linette was ruthless, displaying her talent and expertise against Brisbane's rising star Kulambayeva. The 22-year-old, who was ranked 441st, was unable to respond to Linette's constant baseline. In the match, Linette outshot Kulambayeva by 18 groundstroke winners to just 5.
Hurkacz and Swiatek triumphed over Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin 6-3, 6-4 in the mixed doubles in a dead rubber.
Lomakin successfully threw a number of underarm serves, but the Kazakhstanis were unsatisfied. Swiatek, the top-ranked WTA player in the world, hit an around-the-net post-winner, and Poland will now play against Switzerland to decide the winner of Group B.