Former champions the United States returned to the final of the United Cup mixed team tournament with a fortuitous victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday and set up a title clash with Poland, who hammered Kazakhstan.
Tomas Machac looked set to draw the Czechs level at 1-1 in their semi-final and was serving for the contest against Taylor Fritz, but an apparent cramp took its toll and he lost three straight games before throwing in the towel at 7-6 (4), 5-6.
The result gave the Americans an unassailable 2-0 lead that sent them through before the mixed doubles match in Sydney. “It’s great to be back [in the final]. That was a crazy match, very physical and it’s not the way that I guess I wanted to win,” said Fritz, who helped the US win the title in 2023.
Coco Gauff got the ball rolling for the US team with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over the tricky Karolina Muchova, in a rematch of the Beijing final in October where the American also prevailed. Desirae Krawczyk and Denis Kudla then defeated Gabriela Knutson and Patrik Rikl 7-5, 6-0 in the mixed doubles to complete a US whitewash.
“It’s never easy against Karolina,” said world No 3 Gauff, who recovered from a break deep in the second set to win at the Ken Rosewall Arena. “The whole match I was intense and focused and I think that made the difference today.”
Last year’s runners-up, Poland, reached their second straight final at the $10m tournament after Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek won their singles matches in style.
World No 2 Swiatek settled the tie with a battling effort against the big-hitting Elena Rybakina, securing a 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory in a little over two hours. “I think this was the first time I was able to win against Elena on a faster surface,” said an exhausted Swiatek after an epic battle.
After recovering from an early break, Swiatek missed two set points on a Rybakina service game that lasted more than 13 minutes. The world No 6 eventually managed to hold, but Swiatek was too good in the tiebreak, taking the first set in 72 minutes.
Swiatek broke to love in the seventh game of the second set and then saved a late break point to seal the 123-minute victory. “It means a lot. I didn’t start well, I felt like I was on the handbrake a bit,” she said afterwards. I knew I had to do something because this match could go both ways. I told myself I’m not going to miss any more, and I’m happy because it’s always tough against Elena.”
Hurkacz had earlier beaten Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-2 in under an hour to help his team put one foot into the final. “The last match here gave me a little bit of confidence and I’ve been playing better with every single match,” said the world No 16, who downed Billy Harris in the quarter-final victory over Great Britain.
Poland, who were edged out by Germany in last year’s final, completed a clean sweep after Maja Chwalinska and Jan Zielinski defeated Zhibek Kulambayeva and Shevchenko 6-4, 6-1 in the mixed doubles. The final begins on Sunday.
Sabalenka and Osaka into finals
Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International women’s singles final with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva on Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins this month.
The world No 1, runner-up at last year’s tournament saved five break points to edge a tight opening set against her 17-year-old Russian opponent, who had stunned Sabalenka in the French Open quarter-finals seven months ago.
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Fit and firing on all cylinders at the start of a new season, Sabalenka shifted gears in the second set for an early break and eased through to book a meeting with another Russian, Polina Kudermetova, in Sunday’s final. The 21-year-old qualifier defeated Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina 6-4, 6-3 to continue her stellar run in the tournament.
“It’s always the same tactic for me, to stay aggressive and put my opponents under pressure,” said Sabalenka after her win. “It seemed like everything was working really well. She [Andreeva] is an amazing player and I’m pretty sure she’s going to be in the top 10 very soon. I’m happy to get this win.”
In the men’s event, Reilly Opelka followed up his stunning victory over Novak Djokovic by beating the Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a battle of big servers.
The 6’ 11” tall American has had a torrid time with injuries in the previous two seasons and had to shrug off a wrist issue to win the opening set, before edging a tiebreak in the next to reach his first final in three years.
Opelka, currently ranked 293rd in the world, will face Jiri Lehecka in the final. The Czech player advanced when the defending champion, Grigor Dimitrov, retired with injury while trailing 6-4, 4-4 on Pat Rafter Arena.
In another warm-up event before the Australian Open begins on 12 January, the four-times grand slam champion Naomi Osaka defeated Alycia Parks 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Auckland Classic final, where she will take on Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
Osaka, who returned to the WTA Tour 12 months ago after a lengthy maternity break, is targeting her first trophy since her Melbourne Park triumph four years ago. “I’m happy to get through to the final,” Osaka said. “I’ve actually never gotten to the final of the tournament the week before Melbourne. This is a first for me.”
Tauson earlier overcame American Robin Montgomery 6-4 6-3 after stunning the top seed, Madison Keys, 6-4, 7-6 (7) in a rain-hit match that was carried over from Friday.
