Fritz defeated Hurcox to secure the finals for America

Sydney, Australia) – With his third win in four matches for the United Cup, Taylor Fritz scored the third and decisive point against Poland and qualified the United States to decide the first edition of the mixed team tournament. On Friday night, Fritz needed two tiebreaks to topple Hubert Hurcox, both 7-5.

at Round openingJessica Pegula produced an exceptional performance to beat World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6/2 in doubles, then Francis Tiafoe remained unbeaten against Kacper Zuk 6/3 6/3 in the United Cup.

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— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 7, 2023

The semi-finals will be decided against the winner of Italy and Greece in the early hours of the morning. Italy have already eliminated Brazil in the group stage 2 to 0 advantage After the victories of Martina Trevisan against Maria Zachary and Lorenzo Musetti against Stefanos Sakellaridis.

To complete the outright North American dominance, Madison Keys overcame a very even first set against Magda Linnett, finishing 6/4 and 6/2 to claim the fourth and final point of the match.

A game without loot gaps
A duel between top servers on a fast court, Fritz and Hurcox never saw a service break in either set. Each player had two chances in the first set and the Pole avoided two more chances in the second set.

“Polish perfection!” 🇵🇱#UnitedCup | @HubertHurkacz pic.twitter.com/nlGOC5S4jd

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 7, 2023

Their service percentage wasn’t spectacular – 76% to Fritz’s 63% – but the returners did little in those moments. There were some good rallies during the 1h47 fight, which marked Fritz’s second win in three fights against Hurcox.

“Even if I lose this game I have no doubt we’ll be in the finals,” Fritz told Jim Courier in an interview. “The competition is fantastic and the girls make our team very strong”. He has not faced Hurcox since 2019 and has now played two games in a row against the Pole – the other was in an exhibition in Arabia – and Fritz praised him. “He moves very well and his forehand is consistent. For my part, I served well and got back on the second serve and got into points”.

With a loss, Hurcox will lose his place in the top 10, with Dane Holger Roone just 36 points ahead of him.