Poland, the United Cup runner-up in 2024, will begin its 2025 campaign against Norway on Monday evening in Sydney, Australia.

Iga Swiatek anchors the Polish squad, but the marquee head-to-head matchup comes in men’s singles between Hubert Hurkacz and Norway’s Casper Ruud. This will be their fourth meeting, with Ruud having won two of their three previous encounters. Unsurprisingly, both of Ruud’s victories have come on clay; Hurkacz prevailed in a hard-court contest 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 at the 2022 Toronto Masters.

Although they are back on a hard court to begin the new tennis season, Ruud should have a great chance in this one. The world No. 6 already has a very good win under his belt, having defeated Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 on Sunday. Hurkacz, on the other hand, has not yet played a match at this event.

It could take some time for Hurkacz to get going, too, because he did not do much at the end of last year after suffering a torn meniscus at Wimbledon. The world No. 16 went 2-4 in his last six matches and never really looked to be 100 percent physically following his bad luck at the All-England Club.

All things considered, this sets up well for a more confident Ruud.

Pick: Ruud in 3