Match report
Harkasz and Swiatek lead Poland to United Cup quarter-finals
Poland wins Group A
January 1, 2024
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Iga Swiatek will be active on Monday.
From ATP staff
Hubert Hurkasz and Iga Swiatek secured Poland’s place in the United Cup quarter-finals with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovic Fokina and Sara Sorribes Tormo in Perth on Monday.
In the Group A winner-take-all mixed doubles showdown, Furkas and Swiatek put on a dominant performance inside the RAC Arena, ensuring the top seeds advance to the last eight. They won 78 percent of their first serve points (19/24), faced no break points, and won in just 43 minutes.
Poland reached the semi-finals of the 18-nation mixed team competition last season and became the first team to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Swiatek won an eye-catching 20-set “bagel” (6-0) in singles last season, and also proved his ruthless sharpness in mixed doubles matches, with a perfect performance against world No. 9 Furkas in 2024. Won the first two sets of bagels of the season. .
Earlier, world number one Swiatek defeated Spain’s Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-1, giving Poland the victory. Davidovic Fokina defeated Hurkas 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to give Spain an early lead.
SUPER Swiatek Performance 🇵🇱👏
Ties will be decided in mixed doubles 👀#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/zjgSxc0j2c
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 1, 2024
Swiatek, a four-time Grand Slam champion, celebrated the New Year with a victory over Spain’s top woman and world No. 48 Sorribes Tormo in one hour and 28 minutes. With her latest win, Swiatek improved her head-to-head record against Sorribes Tormo to 3-0 (6-0 in sets).
On Monday, Swiatek was forced to save four break points in his first three service games. But it turns out these break points were the only ones the WTA’s top-ranked player faced in the match without losing serve.
Swiatek’s power game clicked during a commanding 4-2 love break, punctuated by a return winner. Two games later, Swiatek hit a backhand winner on the second set point to take a one-set lead.
Swiatek faced four break points at 1-0 in the second set, but immediately took control with an aggressive break to make it 3-1. Swiatek then heads home on a 13-game winning streak, with his previous two wins in Perth supporting back-to-back wins in Beijing and the WTA Finals to close out the 2023 season.
Earlier on Monday, Davidovic Fokina defeated Hurkas to move Spain one win closer to the United Cup quarter-finals.
In a close battle inside the RAC Arena, Davidovich Fokina made an impressive performance at the second serve point. He won 74 percent (25/34) on his second serve and 55 percent (11/20) on Furkas’ second serve, winning after 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Davidovic Fokina, who opened the season with a straight-sets win over Thiago Sabos Wilde, leads Furkas 4-2 in the Lexus ATP Head 2 Head Series. The 24-year-old Spaniard also improved his record against players in the top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to 6-24.