United Cup: Hurkacz, Swiatek win decisive match to power Poland into semi-finals
Jan 04, 2023
Brisbane [Australia], January 4 : Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek turned heroes on Wednesday after they defeated the Italian duo of Lorenzo Musetti and Camilla Rosatello in the decisive mixed doubles match helping Poland qualify for the United Cup Final semifinal.
The tie hung by the thread but the Polish pair prevailed over their Italian counterparts in straight sets to claim the victory. They won by 6-1, 6-2 in the crucial match.
Hurkacz earlier lost the men's singles match, but he came back to Pat Rafter Arena with Swiatek, who had won the women's singles match, to break the tie. Swiatek's final volley into the open court gave the Poles the victory.
The only thing that stopped the Poles' brilliant performance was the rain. Although Pat Rafter Arena has a roof, there were two brief interruptions early in the second set as a result of sideways rain that found its way onto the court.
Matteo Berrettini, Italy's No. 1 men's singles player and captain Vincenzo Santopadre encouraged and advised their team throughout those breaks. But after 65 minutes, Hurkacz and Swiatek won rendering their advice insufficient.
"I'm really happy for the performance, for my teammates obviously. I think the level was really high. Hubi is a great player. We fought in the past, I'm sure we're going to fight in the future as well. So I'm really, really happy. A little bit tired, but really happy," said Berrettini as quoted by ATPTour.com.
Hurkacz's serve was broken right away by Berrettini, who got things going quickly. But the contest between the two 2021 Nitto ATP Finals candidates evolved into a heavyweight fight.
The crucial point occurred at 3-2 in the decisive set, when there was little to distinguish the stars from one another. In the match, Berrettini made two spectacular passes to set up a break opportunity for himself, which he took advantage of when the Pole missed a forehand long. Their ATP head-to-head series is at 2-1 in favour of the Italian.
After defeating World No. 3 Casper Ruud on Tuesday, it was Berrettini's second Top 10 victory in as many days. In his opening game of the season, he also defeated Thiago Monteiro.
"I think the key today was my mental toughness. I wasn't playing as good as yesterday, but tennis is like this. Every day is different, so I'm really happy for that," concluded Berrettini.
