Poland ends Australia's United Cup dream as defending champions await

(Getty/Brendon Thorne)

A dominant performance from Iga Świątek and an incredible doubles performance from Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zieliński have propelled Poland to a 2-1 victory over Australia, despite the efforts of Alex de Minaur, who played some of his best tennis to defeat Hubert Hurkacz in one of the matches of the tournament.

In the first rubber of the evening, Maya Joint was no match for the experience and power of Świątek, with Poland taking the first match 6-1, 6-1. Joint looked severely underpowered against the world No.2's spin and precision, and the Polish star never gave the Aussie any real chance to get into the match, with Ken Rosewall Arena feeling a little flat as Świątek breezed to victory.

"I had a clear plan of what I wanted to do. I just focused on that. Wanted to be intensive from the beginning, put pressure on Maya, and it worked," said Świątek.

"Every ball mattered. I didn't want to give any free points. I also kind of felt the court a bit better than the last two matches and used the opportunities that I had."

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De Minaur then faced Hurkacz in a must-win encounter, with the Pole coming out strong with a raft of break point chances early in the set. The Sydneysider fought all of the chances on his serve off in the first set before breaking late, while Hurkacz took the second set with a slice of luck, with some net cords helping him as he finally broke de Minaur’s serve.

To say that the match was of the highest quality would be an understatement, with both men striking the ball extremely well, with Hurkacz showing no rust after a seven-month injury. But de Minaur stepped up his game in the third set, breaking early as Hurkacz began to look a little weary before closing out the match to send Australia into a decider.

"I'm very happy with my serving performance, kind of showing all the work that I put in. Of course, if I can land first serves and play with a lot of first serves, it makes my life a whole lot easier. Makes me definitely a more dangerous opponent," said de Minaur.

"I just tried to produce my best tennis. Was not enough today. Had some opportunities that maybe with time, with more matches, I would be able to play a little bit wiser and be more committed to the game," said Hurkacz.

"Overall, obviously a little bit disappointed with the result at the end, but also proud with the fight and happy that I was able to compete again and play on a high, high level. Excited to have another difficult and fun challenge tomorrow."

Both teams decided to rest their singles players for the mixed, with Kawa and Zieliński taking to the court for Poland while Storm Hunter and J.P. Smith took to the court for Australia.

Despite the Aussies having some chances in the first few games of the first set, the match quickly got away as Poland broke midway through the first set before bagelling the Aussies in the second. Smith in particular struggled to take charge, missing several routine shots and struggling with his positioning, while Zieliński, who is known as one of the more intense players on the doubles circuit, took on a heckler in the crowd early in the match and never looked back, producing a scintillating performance where he barely missed the ball all match.

"It was a very emotional match. All four of us have been sitting on the bench for a good five, four hours watching around. There was a lot of emotion building up leading towards that match, a lot of responsibility and pressure," said Zieliński.

"That was kind of my way to let it out and get myself fired up, get Katia fired up, show we're there to fight, to show that we're capable of winning this match, that even though it was a tough environment, we were ready to fight and face it."

Polish captain Mateusz Terczynski said that the decision to substitute out Hurkacz and Świątek for the mixed doubles was based on the strength of the Polish doubles specialist team.

Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt revealed that de Minaur was struggling with some minor injuries throughout the week, which led to him pulling out of the mixed doubles.

"I think with Alex, he was feeling a few tweaks the last few days, as well. He's been doing a lot of training in the off-season to get ready for five-set matches. We decided the best thing for his body moving forward was not to put his hand up to play mixed tonight," Hewitt explained.

"It is tough though, as well, to make a decision so quickly. Also, if you are that second match, to turn around straightaway and switch on. You just don't want to risk injury as well at certain times, especially the amount of moving he had to do tonight against a bloody quality player out there."

The crowd also played a big role, as while the Australians received a strong amount of support, the Polish crowd became increasingly vociferous to the point where they significantly outnumbered Australian fans by the end of the mixed doubles. 

"Yeah, they always get a lot of support here. I knew it was going to be a good atmosphere, that's for sure, coming out. It was a full house. I think when that arena with the roof on has a full house, it's a good atmosphere," said Hewitt.

Poland will face the USA on Saturday evening in a rematch of last year's final, while Belgium will take on Switzerland in the morning.

The Kooyong Classic returns to the spiritual home of Australian tennis from January 13-15, 2026.

Each year, the Kooyong Classic features the world’s best players in their final preparation for the Australian Open. 

The 2026 event will feature Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Bublik, Nick Kyrgios, Karen Khachanov, Flavio Cobolli, Frances Tiafoe, Learner Tien, Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz, Marin Čilić and Zhang Zhizhen, alongside Donna Vekić and a special guest appearance Daniela Hantuchová. More to be announced soon.

Tickets on sale now through Ticketek/www.kooyongclassic.com.au

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