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E-mail Xinhua, January 4, 2024
Zheng Qinwen (L) of China poses with Iga Swiatek (R) of Poland ahead of their quarterfinal at the 2024 United Cup in Perth, Australia, Jan. 3, 2024. (Photo by Zhou Dan/Xinhua)
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek swept past Zheng Qinwen 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday, as top seed Poland beat China to enter the tennis mixed-team United Cup semifinals.
After Hubert Hurkacz beat Zhang Zhizhen in the men's singles of the quarterfinal, Swiatek continued her form ahead of the Australian Open and inflicted Zheng's first defeat of the tournament.
Swiatek was tested early at Perth's RAC Arena against the rapidly rising No. 14 ranked Zheng, who had enjoyed eye-catching wins over Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and Serbia's Olga Danilovic.
But she quickly gained the momentum as Poland became the first team to book a spot in the semifinals.
"It actually was a great experience for me to play in the United Cup. Everything was new. If you talk about the performance today, actually I was not so happy about my performance, but generally, I played not bad here. I enjoy a lot of the time with my Chinese team," the 21-year-old Zheng said at the post-match conference.
She also revealed that she didn't fully recover from her cold and rhinitis.
World No. 9 Hurkacz gave Poland the lead when he defeated Zhang 6-3, 6-4 in 82 minutes.
He showcased dominant serving and furious ground strokes to defeat Zhang, who lost his second straight match after starting with an impressive victory over Czech Jiri Lehecka.
"It is always a tough match against him," Hurkacz said of Zhang. "He can play amazing shots and is such a tough competitor. I am really happy with that victory today."
Both teams used their reserve players for the dead rubber mixed doubles with Katarzyna Piter/Jan Zielinski wrapping up Poland's flawless performance with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 victory over You Xiaodi/Sun Fajing.
Poland will play the winner of the blockbuster quarterfinal between host Australia and a Novak Djokovic-led Serbia.
Day six marks the final day of action in Perth with the semifinals and the final to be played in Sydney.
