Poland won 3-0 Germany for the second date of Group F of the United Cup 2026the mixed team nations tournament with which the season opens in Oceania, and which will include the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, starting next Sunday the 18th. Here, the striking result was in the men’s singles, in which Hubert Hurkacz83rd in the world, surprised by winning 6-3 and 6-4 against Alexander Zverevthird in the world ranking.
Zverev did not take the defeat well. In the second set, when he suffered a decisive break (he was 3-3 and 30-40) after a backhand winner by Hurkacz, he threw and smashed his racket on the floor. Shortly after, the Pole sealed it with a winning serve.
Although he has a very low ranking, it should be taken into account that Hurkacz was in the top 10, but he has just been on the sidelines for seven months due to a severe injury; His last game had been in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, last June. On his return to the courts, he beat the third in the ranking in one hour and 23 minutes, with the weapon as serve: 21 aces and 87% of the points won with the first serve, without suffering breaks and after saving a single break point.
Shocked, Zverev couldn’t believe what happened. During one of the breaks, the German was heard speaking to his teammates in the box at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Perth: “Why am I not serving? This guy hasn’t played for two years (sic) and he’s serving 230 kilometers away, at night and in the cold, it’s crazy. The guy can barely move, but he’s serving like that.”
On the other hand, Hurkacz, who became world number 5 in August 2024 and has 8 titles under his belt, commented: “I haven’t competed for a long time. During these seven months I have had difficult times with the team, it has been quite a challenge. Everyone has been supporting me, they have stayed by my side. We have gone through a long period without being able to compete, without knowing when I could return to the courts. I have tried to savor and enjoy every moment.”
Obviously, it has not been Zverev’s day. Added to the defeat against Hurkacz was the defeat in the mixed doubles with Laura Siegemund: the German couple could not beat the Poles Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa, winners 7-6 (10-8) and 6-3; Previously, Iga Swiatek gave Poland another point by beating Eva Lys 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. In this way, Germany will have to wait for the duel between Poland and the Netherlands to see if it advances to the quarterfinals or is eliminated.
In this context, the United Cup continues its qualification stages and Argentina wait to find out if he has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals. The Albiceleste team has already played its two matches in Group A, with a victory over Spain (3-0) and a loss to the United States (1-2), and is waiting to see if it can become one of the best runners-up. The victory of Greece (Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari) 2-1 over Great Britain helped. The Hellenic team qualified, leaving the British – second, with a worse coefficient than Argentina – without a chance, and in the quarterfinals they will face Switzerland, the leader of Group C.
Argentina awaits in the next few hours the result of the match between France e Italiawhich define the second in group C. A 2-1 or 3-0 victory for France will qualify our country’s team, and even a 2-1 French defeat will also serve. Italy, to advance and leave out both Argentina and France, must win 3-0, and for its rival to win less than two sets in the three matches of the series. If the goal is achieved, our country’s team will face the United States again in the quarterfinals.
In another match, the defending champion, the United States, had to work hard to beat Spain 2-1, as Coco Gauff (4) unexpectedly fell to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (42) by 6-1, 6-7 (3-7) and 6-0, while Taylor Fritz (4) just beat Jaume Munar (36) by 7-6 (7-4), 3-6 and 7-6 (8-6) to tie temporarily the result of the series. The North American team, which also won the United Cup in 2023, advanced to the round by taking the final victory when Gauff and Christian Harrison beat Ivonne Cavalle-Reimers and Iñigo Cervantes in the mixed doubles 7-6 (7-5) and 6-0.
