Germany have been crowned United Cup champions for the first time thanks to a stunning 2-1 fightback victory over Poland in Sunday's final in Sydney.
World number one Iga Swiatek put the Poles on the cusp of glory with a 6-3 6-0 win over Angelique Kerber, but Alexander Zverev forced a deciding doubles rubber by sinking Hubert Hurkacz 6-7[3] 7-6[6] 6-4 in an astonishing three-set battle.
Hurkacz, Swiatek and Zverev would all return for the pivotal doubles encounter, where the latter was joined by Laura Siegemund, and the Germans' comeback was complete with a 6-4 5-7 [10-4] triumph, sparking unbridled celebrations for the first-time champions.
Top-ranked Swiatek had only dropped one singles set in the entire tournament before her second meeting with Kerber, whom she had defeated in three sets at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, but her success proved much more straightforward this time around.
The 22-year-old was put under pressure by Kerber in the opening set, beating away five break points before breaking herself against the 35-year-old, whose semi-final triumph over Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic was her first win since Wimbledon 2022.
As impressive as Kerber's efforts were in the first set, the 35-year-old ran out of steam as Swiatek continued to find the mark with an array of venomous groundstrokes, inflicting a bagel on the German in the second set and finishing in style with a love hold.
Let the PARTY begin 🇩🇪🎉
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 7, 2024
The moment @laurasiegemund & @AlexZverev captured the 2024 United Cup for TEAM GERMANY!!#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/X8cREUfCVm
Swiatek needed just 70 minutes to put Poland 1-0 up in the final, opening the door for Hurkacz to etch his nation's name on the trophy with victory over Zverev, who had prevailed in the first two top-level meetings between the pair.
The duo only managed to fashion one break point between them in a tight opening set, but a dominant tie-breaker from Hurkacz saw him win five points on the spin to put Poland one set away from United Cup glory.
There were no breaks to be had in the second set either, but Hurkacz had two chances to clinch the title at 6-4 up in the tie-breaker, only to see Zverev save both match points, the first of which saw the German produce an exquisite whipped forehand which just clipped the line.
Zverev used that momentum to level the match and finally earned the first break of the contest for a 4-3 lead in the third set, before converting his second match point to ensure that all would be decided in the closing doubles battle.
Thanks to an early break in the third game, Zverev and Siegemund took the opening set against Hurkacz and Swiatek, who also lost serve on two occasions in the second set after breaking the German duo twice.
However, Zverev and Siegemund would have no opportunity to respond to another loss of serve in the 12th game as Poland set up a tantalising first-to-10 tie-breaker for the trophy, but Hurkacz and Swiatek failed to recover from an abysmal start in the final exchange.
Zverev and Siegemund roared into a 6-1 lead in the tie-breaker and earned themselves five match points at 9-4, but they would need just the one to finish the job, as Zverev's backhand volley at the net flew past Hurkacz to confirm Germany's champion status.
Ben Knapton
