{"id":44651,"date":"2024-01-06T18:17:07","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T18:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/swiatek-blasts-poland-past-france-and-into-united-cup-final-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-01-06T18:17:07","modified_gmt":"2024-01-06T18:17:07","slug":"swiatek-blasts-poland-past-france-and-into-united-cup-final-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/swiatek-blasts-poland-past-france-and-into-united-cup-final-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiatek blasts Poland past France and into United Cup final | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nSYDNEY:
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Four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek and teammate Hubert Hurkacz swept top seeds Poland into the United Cup final on Saturday with a hard-fought victory over France.
Hurkacz, at a career-high nine in the world, defeated left-hander Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-5 in Sydney before world number one Swiatek toppled Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
They will play either Alexander Zverev\u2019s Germany or hosts Australia in Sunday\u2019s mixed teams competition decider in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
It is the first final for Poland, who lost at the semi-final stage last year to eventual champions the United States.
\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m happy that I came back and I didn\u2019t make so many mistakes as in the first set,\u201d Swiatek said. \u201cFor sure, Caro was putting pressure as usual, so I\u2019m happy that we\u2019re through to the final.
\u00a0\u201cSometimes it\u2019s a bit hard to point (to) one thing that changed (after the first set). I just feel like I needed to calm down a little bit and not rush it,\u201d she added.
Garcia was France\u2019s saviour in their 2-1 win over Norway in the quarter-finals, coming through a titanic struggle against unheralded Malene Helgo, then backing up to win in mixed doubles.
She again displayed her fighting spirit in breaking Swiatek for a 4-3 lead and taking the first set in 43 minutes.
But that was as good as it got for the world number 20, who folded as Swiatek moved through the gears to dominate the rest of the match
Swiatek grabbed the momentum back in the second set, surging to a 5-0 lead before converting her third set point at 5-1.
A break to love in the opening game of the deciding set deflated Garcia, with Swiatek largely untroubled as she raced to the finish line.
A steady Hurkacz played well in the critical moments and held serve with few problems to close out his match in 1hr and 41mins.
\u00a0\u201cI think definitely today was a real battle,\u201d said Hurkacz, who won the Shanghai Masters last year and also tasted victory at Marseille.
\u00a0\u201cAdrian was playing really, really tricky shots and it\u2019s difficult to play against.
\u00a0\u201cSo I was just battling for every single point, and I think mentally I was able to stay in the present, stay positive before each point and I think I was also really resilient today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n