By Tony Fairbairn
- Katie Boulter pushed Iga Swiatek all the way but just fell short in her bid for a monumental victory
- Great Britain exited the tournament to Poland at the quarter-final stage
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Katie Boulter pushed Iga Swiatek all the way but her and Great Britain fell short to Poland at the United Cup quarter-finals.
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It was an incredible tournament for Great Britain as they reached the quarter-finals of the United Cup but fell short to a world-class Poland side.
Before the quarter-final stage, Alex Ward’s side had to get through the group stage which involved Argentina and Australia.
However the group wasn’t a problem for Great Britain as they started their campaign with a 2-1 win over Argentina.
A convincing win for Katie Boulter started off the week as she defeated former Roland Garros semi-finalist Nadia Podoroska 6-2 6-3.
Although the Brit struggled on serve at times, Boulter was too consistent for the Argentinian as she gave the Brits a 1-0 lead.
After the match Boulter gave her thoughts on the match and admitted the first match of the season was never easy.
“Obviously never easy to come out first match of the year, especially against someone who’s going to make so many balls and make you work so hard,” Boulter told the WTA website.
“She’d already played a match, so I knew I was going to have to get sharp really quickly, and I’m glad I got through the line today and played some really good stuff as well.
“Very, very pleased with today. Last year I played so well in singles and didn’t get any mixed doubles rubbers, so I really wanted this one so badly. I’m so glad we came out. I feel like we both played so great together considering it’s our first time. But I’m just thrilled to get the win.”
The strong Argentinian side would respond though as Tomas Martin Etcheverry overcame an incredible performance from Billy Harris to level the tie.
Harris began the match in fine form as he took the opening set 6-3, playing some aggressive tennis.
The consistency of Martin Etcheverry was too much as he won the last two sets 6-3 6-2 as he gave Argentina a chance of victory.
It was the turn of Boulter and Charles Broom to win the tie as they took on Maria Carle and Martin Etcheverry.
There were too tight sets as there was very little to separate the two teams but it was Boulter and Broom who played the more clutch tennis in big moments to win the match 7-6(4) 7-5.
Therefore Great Britain won the tie 2-1 and there was all to play for in their match against Australia.
The Australians had lost to Argentina in their opening match and looked to prove a point in front of an energetic home crowd.
A straight sets win for Boulter in the opening match would secure the Brits passage into the last eight and that’s exactly what she did, thrashing Olivia Gadecki 6-2 6-1.
It was an aggressive match from the British number one as she laid down an early marker ahead of the Australian Open in a couple of weeks time.
As Great Britain secured their passage in the last eight, now it was all about confidence as they looked to win the tie.
Harris did his best to thwart the attempts of Boulter’s fiancée Alex De Minaur but the Australian was too good in a 6-2 6-1 demolition.
Now it was time for the mixed doubles as Australia needed a dominant win in order to qualify for the last eight as Gadecki and De Minaur took on Olivia Nicholls and Broom.
There was no dominant win but Australia did win the tie with a 6-3 7-6(3) victory as the British team were 1-1 for the tournament.
Great Britain resilient in quarter-final exit to Poland
The group stages were behind them and now it was time for the quarter-finals as the British team took on last year’s runners-up Poland.
It was never going to be easy but the Brits put up a valiant display as Harris took the match to Hubert Hurkacz in the first contest.
Two tight sets as Harris made the Polish number one work for every point forcing Hurkacz to play his very best tennis.
However Hurkacz rose to the occasion, sealing a 7-6(3) 7-5 victory and putting the Polish team 1-0 up.
Next it was the turn of Boulter as she had the unenviable task of taking on former world number one Iga Swiatek.
Despite Swiatek’s attacking start, Boulter was clutch in the big moments as she took the opening set tiebreak 7-4.
A big moment for Boulter and now she was going toe-to-toe with one of the best players in the world.
There was an emphatic response from Swiatek though as she thumped her way to the second set 6-1.
In the decider Boulter dealt a big blow in the opening set as she went a break up early on.
After a long wait while Swiatek went for an off-court medical time-out, Boulter was understandably frustrated and her momentum was halted.
A world-class comeback from Swiatek as she sealed the final set 6-4 and gave Poland victory.
The win for the Polish team turned into a whitewash as Maja Chwalinska and Jan Zielinski defeated Nicholls and Broom 6-2 7-6(3).
It was a valiant display but Great Britain once again suffered team competition disappointment.
Harris will now head to Melbourne to compete in Australian Open qualifying while Boulter will play at the WTA 500 event in Adelaide.
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