Germany pulled off a semifinal win at the United Cup in thrilling fashion, defeating home-favorite Australia 2-1 on Saturday in Sydney.
After the two nations split in singles play, Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund battled the Australian duo of Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter in the decisive mixed-doubles match, with the Germans prevailing 7-6 (2), 6-7 (2), 15-13 in two hours, 22 minutes.
Action ended at 2:21 a.m. local time — Sunday morning — when Hunter’s return was long on the Germans’ fifth match point of the third set. The Australians had two match points.
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The moment Team Germany earned their spot in the #UnitedCup final ?? pic.twitter.com/BsMq0ODv0s
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2024
The mixed doubles ended an epic battle between the Germans, the 16th seed, and the 15th-seeded Australians.
Former No. 1 Angelique Kerber gave the Germans a 1-0 lead when she rebounded from a set down and fought off two match points to bet Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7) in two hours, 34 minutes.
In the men’s match, Alex de Minaur rallied to top Zverev 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes.
In all, it took Germany nearly eight hours to defeat the Aussies.
In Sunday’s final, they’ll meet No. 1 seed Poland, which had a much easier time in defeating France 3-0 earlier in the day.
Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz struck 15 aces and didn’t face a break point in his 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Adrian Mannarino. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was challenged by Caroline Garcia, who won the first set, but Swiatek prevailed 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
With their berth in the final already secured, the Polish team of Katerzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski defeated France’s Elixane Lechemia and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-3 in mixed doubles.
–Field Level Media