It’s the last scheduled match in a United Cup tie, but as we’ve seen repeatedly this past week Down Under, mixed doubles is of the very first importance.
On Friday night, the unheralded team of Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski defeated John-Patrick Smith and Storm Hunter 6-4, 6-0 to send Poland soaring past Australia 2-1 and into Saturday’s semifinals against Team USA.
Switzerland, sporting its own brand of mixed magic, takes on Belgium in the first semifinal at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.
Both Perth quarterfinals came down to the all-or-nothing co-ed challenge, a relatively rare phenomenon seen only in Grand Slams and the Olympics.
Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison rallied from a set down to Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari to win 10-8 in a match-tiebreak. The Greek team was down 6-1 but reeled off five straight points to make it 6-all. The Americans won four of the next six points to advance to Saturday’s semifinals against Poland in Sydney.
“I think in those moments it’s important because literally in tiebreaks every point matters more so than maybe in a three-set format,” Gauff noted. “It definitely came down to the wire. So, yeah, I appreciate the whole team talking to us, pumping us up and seeing things that maybe we couldn’t see on the court.”
It was the third time in three matches that Team USA got the winning points from Gauff and Harrison.
Switzerland needed late wins from Belinda Bencic and Jakub Paul against Italy in group play and in the quarterfinals against Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carle and Guido Andreozzi.
Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland’s captain and singles player, was hoping to play at least one match with Bencic, but in his last season at the age of 40, Wawrinka made the decision to go with Paul.
“I’m not even thinking too much about if I should play or not, because I’m happy to focus on my singles and I’m happy to see them playing so well,” Wawrinka said. “That’s the beauty of this event, that we are a team and we can change. We can put different players on the court.
“So far they’ve been doing everything, so I’m happy on my bench.”
Bencic and Paul have also won all three of their mixed doubles matches.
Let’s break down these sparkling matchups:
United Cup semifinal No. 1: Switzerland (3-0) vs. Belgium (2-1)
10 a.m. local; 6 p.m. ET
Sure, the United Cup is a team game but let it be said that the members of the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz have done more than their share of the heavy lifting.
Switzerland’s Bencic, who became a mother in 2024, has played three singles matches and three mixed — and won all six.
“It’s a great feeling to start a season well,” Bencic told reporters. “Of course, it’s what you hope for to kind of keep going how last season ended. It gives you a lot of confidence that you come out of the blocks pretty good and you already have so much play before the Australian Open, which is always very important.”
Elise Mertens of Belgium has also won all three of her singles matches and is 1-1 playing with Zizou Bergs. She defeated two-time major champion Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals, 5-7, 6-1, 7-5, firing 12 aces.
The two breadwinners — both Top 20 players — meet on Saturday in a match that could dramatically shape the final outcome. In over 1,400 career matches, they’ve only met once — with Mertens winning a third-round match at the 2021 Australian Open, 6-2, 6-1. They were scheduled to meet last fall in Wuhan, but Mertens pulled out with a back injury.
Wawrinka holds a 1-0 head-to-head edge over Bergs.
If it comes down to mixed doubles, both teams are talented. Mertens partnered with Veronika Kudermetova to win the doubles title at the WTA Finals last November in Riyadh. She’s played two matches with Bergs and is looking comfortable.
“We are growing as a team,” Mertens said. “I can really feel that.”
Order of play
–Women’s singles: Belinda Bencic vs. Elise Mertens
–Men’s singles: Stan Wawrinka vs. Zizou Bergs
–Mixed doubles: Bencic and Jakub Paul vs. Mertens and Bergs
United Cup semifinal No. 2: USA (3-0) vs. Poland (3-0)
5:30 p.m. local; 1:30 a.m. ET
Rest versus momentum — which team has the advantage?
The United States advanced to these semifinals on Wednesday and has enjoyed two off days but had to make the 4.5-hour cross-country flight from Perth to Sydney and navigate a three-hour time change.
Poland played its quarterfinal in Sydney on Friday night and launches right into Saturday’s tie with the United States — in a rematch of last year’s final. No rest for the victors, but they are already intimately familiar with the conditions. Advantage?
It’s Poland’s fourth straight year as a semifinalist.
Swiatek captures dominant win over Joint in United Cup quarterfinals
The crackling match between Iga Swiatek and Gauff features the No. 2 and No. 4 players on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.
Swiatek, three years older, won 11 of their first 12 encounters, but Gauff has taken the past three — all in straight sets. A year ago, Gauff beat Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 in a memorable United Cup match that saw Team USA win its second title in three years of the competition.
“Obviously we’ve played each other a lot of times,” Gauff said of Swiatek. “Last year I had a good match against her. Yeah, I’m looking forward to the battle. I feel like when I’m playing great tennis, it puts a lot of pressure on them. Yeah, I’m looking forward to that.”
Said Swiatek, “For sure it’s a good match, like exciting for the fans I think. Obviously we know each other’s game pretty well with Coco. The key for me will be just to focus on myself, try to implement the stuff that I worked on during the preseason and be brave with the decisions.”
Taylor Fritz leads the head-to-head with Hubert Hurkacz, 4-2, including a win in last year’s final.
“Taylor, he’s such a great player,” Hurkacz said. “It’s going to be a fun challenge to play against him. I mean, we played in the finals last year. It was a close battle. Will try to be a bit better this year.”
And while Team USA has the undefeated Gauff and Harrison lined up for mixed doubles, Kawa and Zielinski are fire-tested — and also a spiffy 3-0.
Order of play
–Men’s singles: Taylor Fritz vs. Hubert Hurkacz
–Women’s singles: Coco Gauff vs. Iga Swiatek
–Mixed doubles: Gauff and Christian Harrison vs. Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski
