Hubert Hurkacz has put Poland one match win from the United Cup semi-finals.

The 27-year-old clawed past Billy Harris 7-6(3), 7-5 on Thursday evening to give Poland a 1-0 lead against Great Britain. Iga Swiatek will now try to seal the tie against Katie Boulter.

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“Definitely super pleased with myself,” Hurkacz said. “Today was a really difficult battle with Billy. He was playing some really great tennis and definitely really happy to get through this one.”

Hurkacz walked into Ken Rosewall Arena having lost both of his singles matches in Group B action. But the United Cup veteran, who has competed in the mixed-teams event in all three editions, was cool under pressure against tournament newcomer Harris.
 
The Pole saved all three break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats and relied on his dominant first delivery, winning 88 per cent of his first-serve points.
 
Harris, the No. 125 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, served well himself, only losing serve once in the one-hour, 45-minute match. But in the critical moments, he was not as solid.
 
The Briton missed a backhand long to lose the first set and missed another one in the net at 5-5 in the second set to lose serve for the only time in the match. 
 
“This win is so crucial for me to get more confidence and get another match in,” Hurkacz said.
 
It was the 150th tour-level hard-court win of Hurkacz’s career and more importantly for Team Poland, he is now 5-0 against players outside the world’s Top 30 at the United Cup. He fell to World No. 6 Casper Ruud and World No. 25 Tomas Machac in group play.

More to follow…