Hurkacz, Swiatek win as Poland march into United Cup final

SYDNEY : Poland reached the final of the United Cup mixed team tournament with a 2-0 victory over France on Saturday as Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek battled past their singles opponents.

World No. 9 Hurkacz staved off a late comeback attempt by Adrian Mannarino and prevailed 6-3 7-5, handing top seeds Poland a 1-0 lead in the $10 million tournament, which began last week with 18 countries in contention.

Swiatek endured a more challenging outing against Caroline Garcia, as the world No. 1 dropped the opening set before rediscovering her top level and winning 4-6 6-1 6-1.

An early double break in the decider put Swiatek ahead 4-0 and the 22-year-old never looked back from there as she claimed her fourth straight singles win of the season ahead of this month's Australian Open.

Hosts Australia and Germany face off later in Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena for a spot in Sunday's final against Poland.

The Australian Open runs from Jan. 14-28.