Hubert Hurkacz secured a critical victory for Poland against Swiss international Stan Wawrinka in Group B of the 2023 United Cup.
The world number 10 battled hard to overturn former world number 3 Wawrinka 7-6 6-4 to give Poland a 2-1 lead.
Poland’s advantage was further widened after Magda Linette claimed a third crucial win as she edged out Jil Teichmann 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
Poland will face Italy in the United Cup City Finals. The winner between the two countries will advance to the semifinals. The team with the best record among the runners up in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane can also advance to the semifinals.
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“I’ve never had a chance against Stan so I’m really looking forward to this fight. He is a legend of this sport. I watched him win Grand Slams and now I share the same court with him. So, it was really a great joy for me,” said Hubert Hurkacz.
“For sure it’s a very big game. Of course I feel very happy to get points for Poland. This is an important point for us and we will keep fighting.”
The stakes in that match were high for both players as both players knew full well that both countries had a 50-50 chance of winning Group B in the United Cup.
Wawrinka battled hard to keep pace with the Polish international and his distance was decent, but the world number 10 found his best in the crucial moments and claimed victory in 1 hour 39 minutes.
“I found my serving rhythm towards the end and definitely from the baseline area, I shot some of the better shots,” added Hurkacz.
“It was a really important game and I’m happy that I built my game throughout.”
With the chance to win and prevent the match from being decided by a mixed doubles match, world number 48 Linette held back the nerves to claim her first win over world number 35 Teichmann. The two tennis players have only met once before, namely in Chicago in the 2021 season which the Swiss won in straight sets.
Despite missing chances to win, Swiss team Belinda Bencic and Marc Andrea Huesler battled for their country in the mixed doubles by bagging 7-5, 6-2 wins over Alicja Rosolska and Kacper Zuk. The final position shows 3-2 over Poland’s advantage.
