United Cup: Great Britain's Katie Boulter loses to Poland's Iga Swiatek, Billy Harris beaten by Hubert Hurkacz
Katie Boulter fell agonisingly short of a stunning win over five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek as Great Britain's hopes of reaching the United Cup semi-finals were ended by Poland.
Boulter, 28, needed victory to send the best-of-three tie into a deciding doubles, but lost 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-4 against world number two Swiatek in Sydney.
The pair showed their mutual respect with a warm embrace at the net after an enthralling contest which lasted almost three hours.
"I'm exhausted. I'm happy I won so I didn't have to play the doubles," said Swiatek.
"This match was so crazy, there were so many changes of momentum."
Britain's hopes relied on Boulter causing a shock against the five-time major champion after Billy Harris narrowly lost to former world number six Hubert Hurkacz.
Harris, 29, pushed 16th-ranked Hurkacz in the opening match of the best-of-three tie before going down 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.
Poland, who were one of the pre-tournament favourites, will face Kazakhstan in the last four on Saturday.
Carrying added belief from the finest season of her career last year, Boulter has been a talismanic presence for Britain in the mixed gender team event.
The world number 24 led her nation into the quarter-finals with crucial singles victories against Argentina's Nadia Podoroska and Australia's Olivia Gadecki in the group stage.
Facing Swiatek was a step up in class, but presented an opportunity for Boulter to showcase her ability against the most dominant player on the WTA Tour over the past three seasons.
A rampant start by the Pole, who moved 4-1 ahead in the first set, was ominous for the Briton, but she showed her quality in a spirited response.
Causing problems with her baseline power, Boulter began to match Swiatek's intensity and put a contest which showcased the crisp ball-striking of both players back on serve.
Swiatek has sometimes struggled to get to grips with heavy-hitting opponents, often becoming less accurate with her returning as she tries to match their power.
Errors crept in as Boulter continued to pummel her groundstrokes, with the Briton playing some of the best tennis of her career to move into a one-set lead.
Sustaining that level was not going to be easy, though.
Swiatek hit back by making another strong start in the second set, taking some of the pace out of the rallies with loopier returns and going on to comfortably level.
Momentum continued to fluctuate as Boulter bounced back to secure an early break in the decider.
After Swiatek took a medical timeout, the Briton lost the next eight points as her 2-1 lead turned into a 3-2 deficit, while both players were unable to take further break points in the eighth and ninth games.
Had Boulter taken her chance, it would have left her serving for the biggest win of her career by ranking.
Instead, Swiatek survived and broke Boulter to love, throwing her racquet high into the air to demonstrate her relief at coming through.
It was another painful defeat for the British team.
Harris, a late bloomer who has made huge strides in the past two years, was playing as Britain's leading man, with Jack Draper nursing a hip injury and Cameron Norrie starting the season at an ATP event in Hong Kong.
Like in his defeats against Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Australia's Alex de Minaur, the world number 125 acquitted himself well against a much higher-ranked opponent in Hurkacz.
Harris served strongly throughout but was unable to break 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Hurkacz, whose superior pedigree proved the difference in the decisive moments.
There was further disappointment for British fans when Jodie Burrage missed the chance to reach the quarter-finals at the season-opening WTA event in Auckland.
The British number seven held a match point in the deciding set against American opponent Hailey Baptiste but could not convert and went on to lose 5-7 7-5 7-6 (8-6).
Burrage, 25, is trying to kickstart her career after missing large chunks of last season with wrist and ankle injuries.
After being given a late spot in the Auckland main draw as a lucky loser, she made the most of her opportunity with an opening win over New Zealand wildcard Vivian Yang.
Despite losing to 92nd-ranked Baptiste, the performances will stand Burrage in good stead going into the Australian Open, where she plays under an injury protected ranking.
Iga Swiatek ‘not expecting’ WADA appeal of doping ban; Polish agency declines to appeal
Iga Swiatek says she is “not expecting” world anti-doping authorities to appeal the one-month doping ban she received after testing positive for a banned substance.
The Polish anti-doping agency (POLADA) confirmed Monday December 30 that it will not lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS). The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has until January 21 to lodge an appeal of its own.
“After a comprehensive examination and verification of the full legal file of the athlete Iga Swiatek, [POLADA] has decided not to appeal the decision made by International Tennis Integrity Agency in the case of the tennis athlete,” a spokesperson for POLADA said.
“Conducting an in-depth and thorough analysis by Polish Anti-Doping Agency’s experts made it possible to make an objective decision that complied with anti-doping regulations.”
POLADA originally had until December 19 to lodge an appeal, but its requesting the full case file triggered an extension to December 31, as reported by Sport.Pl.
The five-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 2 discussed her suspension from tennis — during which she missed three tournaments and relinquished the world No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka — at a news conference for the United Cup in Sydney, where she is representing Poland. Swiatek, who August 12 tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a heart medication, said: “I think people are understanding, most of them.”
Swiatek doesn’t “think there is any reason” for an appeal, adding that she has “no influence on what’s going to happen.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) informed Swiatek of her positive test September 12 and provisionally suspended her. Swiatek appealed that provisional suspension within 10 days, arguing that her melatonin medication was contaminated.
Independent laboratory tests confirmed this argument and her appeal was successful, so her provisional suspension was not publicly disclosed until late November, when the ITIA concluded its investigation and awarded a one-month ban. “The ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works, they know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on,” Swiatek said.
Swiatek served 22 days of that ban from September to October and the remainder between November and December. While rueful of its impact on her world ranking, she added that it “must be much harder” to spend extended time away from tennis.
“It’s terrible for any player who has to go through this,” she said.
WADA has lodged an appeal into men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s doping case which could result in a ban of up to two years for the Italian if upheld. It will not be heard before the end of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2025 season which starts January 12 in Melbourne. Sinner and Sabalenka are the defending singles champions, with Swiatek exiting the 2024 event in the third round.
Swiatek opened her United Cup campaign December 30, with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Norwegian world No. 404 Malene Helgo.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Women's Tennis
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