Tennis - United Cup - Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, Australia - January 7, 2024 Poland's Iga Swiatek in action during her singles final match against Germany's Angelique Kerber REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Germany beat top seeds Poland to clinch the United Cup on Sunday after Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund won the deciding mixed doubles tie over Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek.
With the score tied at 1-1 after Swiatek and Zverev won their respective singles matches, the German duo won the doubles match 6-4 5-7 10-4.
Germany had a relatively poor group stage and just about qualified for the knockouts, but Zverev and Siegemund formed a formidable pair to rescue their side by winning three deciders in as many days to lead their team to the title.
"It's been absolutely amazing. It's been a pleasure and it's been absolutely so much fun for everybody to be part of this team, especially for me," Zverev said.
"I really thank you guys for being part of this. I really couldn't be happier be sharing this trophy with anybody than you guys."
Poland did not go home empty handed, however, with Swiatek picking up the Most Valuable Player award having won all her singles ties as well as the mixed doubles matches before the final.
"It was really tight. Last year we made it to the semi-finals and this year to the finals. So hopefully the next step is going to be winning (the trophy)," Swiatek said.
In the singles rubbers, world number one Swiatek stepped up preparations for the Australian Open starting next Sunday by fending off Angelique Kerber after a high-quality start by both players.
The four-times Grand Slam champion moved up a gear in the opening set as Kerber, who returned to action in the tournament after 18 months on maternity leave, dropped her level having gone toe to toe with her opponent until 3-3.
The 22-year-old Swiatek looked unstoppable in the second set and she wrapped up a 6-3 6-0 win in 70 minutes.
Zverev then saved two match points against Hurkacz to prevail 6-7(3) 7-6(6) 6-4 and level the tie.
Hurkacz was pushed hard by Zverev in a physically demanding opening set of his contest but the big-hitting world number nine edged the tie-break to give Poland hope of sealing a swift win for their first team title.
But Zverev saved two match points, including one with a sublime forehand pass to the back of the court at 6-4 down in the second set tie-break, before dragging himself back into the contest as Hurkacz struggled to stem the flow of errors.
The gutsy German moved ahead 4-3 with a break in the decider despite looking drained at times but kept up the pressure to win an epic encounter lasting nearly three hours on his second match point to force a mixed doubles decider.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Miral Fahmy and Tomasz Janowski)
