Much to the chagrin of the host nation, Sunday’s United Cup final in Sydney, Australia pits Germany against Poland.
The Aussies came incredibly close to booking their spot in the championship tie, but they ultimately went down to Germany 15-13 in the super-breaker of the deciding mixed doubles match on Saturday night. Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund teamed up to defeat Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 15-13 in an absolute thriller that ended at 2:15 am.
Zverev has been outstanding throughout the week Down Under. The world No. 7 is 5-1 overall (3-1 in singles, 2-0 in doubles) after losing to Australia’s Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday evening. That was preceded by a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(7) victory for Angelique Kerber over Ajla Tomljanovic. The Germans saved two match points in each of the two rubbers they won on what was a memorable day from start to finish in Sydney.
There has been no such drama for Team Poland. Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek have been mostly dominant in singles, and the one time they had to play a decisive doubles rubber they double-bageled the Spanish pairing of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Sara Sorribes Tormo. Hurkacz lost to Davidovich Fokina in that tie, but the world No. 9 has since knocked off Zhizhen Zhang and Adrian Mannarino in straight sets.
Zverev and Hurkacz will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Sunday. Both of their previous encounter have gone the way of the German; 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the 2019 Madrid Masters and 6-2, 6-4 at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals.
Although Zverev has to be a bit fatigued, he should still have the edge–again–in this one. Swiatek will almost certainly defeat Kerber in the opening rubber, which means this will be a must-win situation for Zverev instead of for Hurkacz. That should give Zverev the adrenaline he needs to overcome any fatigue. Look for him to improve to 3-0 lifetime against the big-serving Pole.
Pick: Zverev in 3
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