Poland reach United Cup semis, Nadal beats Thiem upon return

Poland reach United Cup semis, Nadal beats Thiem upon return

Hubert Hurkacz defeated Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-4, and Iga Swiatek defeated Zheng Qingwen 6-2, 6-3,

respectively, on Wednesday, propelling Poland past China and into the United Cup quarterfinals.

Last year, Poland made it to the last four as well,

but Team USA stopped them and went on to win the competition.

Zhang, who is rated 58th in the world, found it difficult to counter

the powerful serves and forehands of the world number nine,

who won his second masters championship in Shanghai last year and raised his record against Zhang to 3-1.

The initial set lasted one hour and twenty-two minutes.

Hurkacz remarked, “It is always a tough match against him.”

“He is a fierce competitor and has incredible shot-making ability. With that win today, I’m overjoyed.”

“I think I still have a lot to learn, but I was really pleased with how I played today.

He’s a tremendously talented player, and hopefully he’ll have a fantastic season this year,” he continued.

Right now, Zhang is China’s best-ranked men’s singles player.

He made history in October 2022 by being the first player from China to rank in the top 100 of the ATP singles rankings.

Prior to formally surpassing other Chinese players in July,

he made history in May 2023 by becoming the first man from China to advance to

the ATP Tour Masters 1000 quarterfinals at the Madrid Open.

Soon after, world number one Swiatek faced Chinese prodigy Zheng,

who is ranked 15th in the world. Zheng quickly seized an early 2-0 lead in the first set,

but Swiatek responded by winning six straight games to win

the second set 6-3 and move her record against the Chinese prospect to 5-0.

This was the Chinese squad’s inaugural campaign in the mixed team competition.

After defeating the Czech Republic 3-0 in the opening round robin match and losing 2-1 to Serbia,

which is captained by 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic,

they finished first among runners-up across six groups to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka, who had been sidelined due to injury and pregnancy, respectively,

made their comebacks at the Brisbane International,

another Australian tennis competition featuring prominent players

in preparation for the forthcoming Australian Open.

At Rod Laver, each of the players has won twice.

Spanish heavyweight Rafael Nadal, who is two titles shy of top-seeding Djokovic,

defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-5, 6-1.

Thiem missed nine months of the 2023 season due to a wrist injury that pulled him out of action.

The fact that Rafael Nadal, 37,

had previously said that the 2024 season would be his swan song added poignancy to his first-round triumph.

“Today is honestly an emotional and important day for me after probably one of

the toughest years of my tennis career,” Nadal stated following the victory.

“I had the chance to come back after a year and play in front of an amazing crowd,

and play at a very positive level on the first day is something that makes us feel proud –

my team and family who have been there every day in the last year,” he stated.

Although Osaka of Japan, the former world number one in women’s singles,

did not have as easy of a comeback as Nadal’s, she lost 3-6, 7-6(4),

6-4 in the second round to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic,

who also formerly topped the women’s ranking.

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