Poland battles past Czech Republic to secure QF spot for United Cup | ATP tour

United Cup

Poland battle past the Czech Republic to secure a QF spot for the United Cup

The Czech Republic could still clinch a spot in the quarterfinals

January 1, 2025

Poland returns to the quarter-finals of the United Cup.

Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek secured their country's place in Group B on Wednesday, beating Czech Tomas Machac and Karolina Muchova 7-6(3), 6-3 to seal the critical 2-1 draw.

“Honestly, I was sure they would play great tennis because they always have great teams in doubles and mixed doubles. They were raised that way,” Swiatek said. “But I knew we had the game to win. We were definitely in the lead from the start.

“In the first set it became exciting at the end, but I still had the feeling that we were still in the lead, so we just took advantage of that in the tiebreak. In the end it seemed that we had everything under control.”

Both countries knew that a draw would see them reach the last eight of the mixed team competition. But it was last year's runners-up who found a way through the tie to surpass their group and progress.

Hurkacz delivered the 11th ace of the match to his duo and emerged victorious after one hour and 25 minutes. The Poles broke away five times out of eleven chances against the Czechs.

“Iga is so solid and you can really count on her shots,” Hurkacz said.

The Czech Republic can still earn a spot in the quarter-finals by finishing as the top-seeded, second-placed country in Sydney. Machac, Muchova and the rest of their team will have to closely follow the match between Australia and Great Britain on Wednesday evening.

^{Photo: Peter Staples/ATP tour}
Machac had taken the Czech Republic to the brink of the quarter-finals early in the match with a thrilling win against Hurkacz, before Iga Swiatek forced the decisive mixed doubles match.

Hurkacz won another six points in the one-hour, 55-minute men's singles match, but Machac persevered to emerge victorious 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead.

“It was a difficult match from the start. I was a little tired from the match with Casper [Ruud]”, said Machac. “It was a great match and Hubi is an incredible player. It is always a pleasure to share the court with him. In the end, I was just fighting. I'm really happy with my mental one [game] eventually.”

Hurkacz and Machac's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in the Marseille quarter-finals last year saw Hurkacz fail to face a break point in a straight sets win.

Machac, who lost a nearly three-hour battle in his opening match of the season against Norway's Casper Ruud, received leg rubs from coach and captain Daniel Vacek in the Team Zone during substitutions, perhaps showing the fatigue he was referring to. The Czech struggled with his opponent's second serve as Hurkacz won a whopping 70 percent of the points after his second throw, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

But seemingly out of nowhere, Machac earned match point at 5-4 on the Pole's serve. While Hurkacz saved a break point at 3-4 in the decider with a big backhand down the line, he could no longer avoid problems by launching a forehand long.

Machac cheered with joy and enjoyed the moment with Vacek, just outside the Team Zone.

“In the end I tried to be more aggressive, push myself to the court,” Machac said. “It was great.”

^{Photo: Jason McCawley/Getty Images}
World No. 2 Swiatek recorded a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 victory over Muchova of the Czech Republic, keeping last year's runners-up Poland alive in their quest to guarantee themselves a place in the quarter-finals.

“Honestly, I like playing against Karolina because she always brings precision and intensity and a little bit of a different game than most girls,” Swiatek said. “So it is certainly a challenge. I'm happy that even though I lost my serve when I thought it would get easier, I'm happy that I increased my intensity in the last two games to break again.”

Muchova, world number 22, had troubled Swiatek in the past, taking a win in their first meeting in Prague in 2019 and pushing the Pole to three sets in their other two meetings, most notably a closely contested Roland Garros final in 2023.

A deep service return from Muchova gave the Czech the first break of the day and a 2-1 lead. But through those early stumbles, Swiatek's hard hitting came into top form and she scored four games in a row to lead 5-2.

Serving at 5-3, Swiatek batted away two break points with backhand winners to take the one-set lead. Both players went 6-for-9 at the net in the opening frame, but Swiatek went a perfect 2-for-2 on break points.

In the second set, Muchova came back from a break to tie the game at 4-4, but Swiatek found a pair of blistering backhands to win back the break and serve for the match. The former world number 1 still had to save a break point, but rounded off the victory with a winning volley after one hour and 56 minutes of play.

“Obviously I knew what was at stake,” Swiatek said. “So in difficult moments I just tried to loosen my hand and force myself not to change movements because of any thoughts. That is the most important thing in tennis: to try to use your intuition as much as possible and I think I have certainly done that during the last rallies.”