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Australia's Alex De Minaur (L) greets Germany's Alexander Zverev at the end of their singles match during the United Cup in Sydney, Australia, January 6, 2024. /CFP
Australian Alex De Minaur defeated German Alexander Zverev Saturday, but it was not enough to prevent Germany booking a United Cup final against Poland.
De Minaur battled past the world number seven 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to send the tie to a deciding mixed doubles after Angelique Kerber of Germany dug deep to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9/7).
But Zverev made amends, partnering Laura Siegemund to claw past Australian pair Storm Hunter and Matt Ebdon 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (2/7), 15-13 in a see-sawing match which finished at 2:18 a.m. local time and saw them save four match points.
Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) and Alexander Zverev in action during their United Cup mixed doubles match in Sydney, Australia, January 6, 2024. /CFP
Zverev had only 25 minutes between the singles and doubles matches but that did not stop him and he partnered Siegemund to beat the Australian pair.
"After the singles match it was obviously disappointing, but I thought the level of the match was extremely high," said an exhausted Zverev, who was visibly cramping up after a total of five hours on court.
"We were still in the tie, and we still had a chance to win it and I'm happy that we did that today."
Kerber had recovered from a set down and saved two match points to beat Tomljanovic for her first singles win since her 18-month maternity break.
"I just tried to play as many matches as possible before going to Melbourne. I tried to learn from my last three matches," Kerber said.
"Coming out here and winning such a tough battle means a lot to me. It means a lot to have a match like this before going to the Australian Open."
The Australian Open runs from January 14 to 28.
Poland's Hubert Hurkacz hits a return against France's Adrian Mannarino (not pictured) during their men's singles match at the United Cup in Sydney, Australia, January 6, 2024. /CFP
Earlier, Poland swept France aside 3-0.
Poland's Hubert Hurkacz staved off a late comeback attempt by France's Adrian Mannarino to win 6-3 7-5, handing the top seeds a 1-0 lead in the $10 million event, which began last week with 18 countries in contention.
Iga Swiatek endured a much more challenging outing against Caroline Garcia, as the women's world number one 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 4-0 ahead and the 22-year-old never looked back as she claimed her fourth straight singles win of the season ahead of this month's Australian Open.
Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts after winning a point against Caroline Garcia of France (not pictured) during their United Cup match in Sydney, Australia, January 6, 2024. /CFP
"I'm happy that I came back and I didn't make so many mistakes as in the first set," Swiatek said. "For sure, Caroline was putting pressure as usual, so I'm happy that we're through to the final.
"Hubert played a great match today. He had everything under control, and it was nice watching that. For sure it made it a little bit easier for me."
(With input from agencies)