A remarkable 21-point serving streak and some trademark fight from Alex de Minaur has kept Australia’s United Cup hopes alive after he claimed a 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in a cracking contest on his home court in Sydney.
The ‘Demon’ had to win his singles clash after Maya Joint was demolished in the opening match of the evening on Ken Rosewall Arena, and he didn’t disappoint the crowd who flocked to the ice cream vendors between games to keep cool.
The world No.5 was at his brilliant best as he absorbed wave after wave of pressure from his big-serving 196cm opponent who racked up nine break points in de Minaur’s opening four service games.
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But the Aussie ace soaked up everything thrown his way and then counterpunched with a timely break of serve in the ninth game before he ironically held to love to clinch the first set.
After battling to hold in the first set, de Minaur won an absurd 21 points in a row on his serve before he busted the streak with an untimely double fault in the tenth game.
Hurkacz sensed his moment and pounced as he outlasted the speedster in a couple of marathon rallies before he finally clinched the crucial break with a glorious passing backhand to earn a huge roar from the healthy Polish crowd.
But they went eerily quiet in the deciding set when de Minaur broke to love in the third game, with the local lad emulating team captain Lleyton Hewitt with a clutch lob and some glorious ground strokes to quell any thoughts of a comeback.
“Nights like these are just the best,” he said after the match to thunderous applause, conceding he had “dark thoughts” in the third set.
“I just had to fight him off from the first point to the last. It was a huge mental effort, and we’re still alive.”
Earlier, Joint was taught a brutal tennis lesson a week out from the Australian Open after the rising star was thumped by Polish champion Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek lost the opening game of the evening but was unstoppable from there as she blitzed her 19-year-old opponent 6-1 6-1 to put the women’s tour on notice ahead of the first grand slam of the year.
The world No.2 has never won in Melbourne but that could change in 2026 as she looks to add to her six majors, with Swiatek in blistering form on a scorching day in Sydney.
There was a moment at 2-1 at the change of ends in the first set where she appeared to be in tears, but there was no apparent injury and the extreme heat didn’t affect her as she powered on.
She played at a speed and intensity that Joint simply couldn’t match, with few players on tour able to go with her when she’s in this sort of form.
Joint enjoyed a breakout 2025 campaign but has started the new year on the back foot after illness kept her out of Australia’s first match, with the world No.32 losing both of her singles matches since returning to the court.
She won’t have to play the top stars in the opening rounds of her home slam, but Friday’s result is a sign she still has things to work on when she comes up against the biggest names on the planet.
It’ll be Storm Hunter and John-Patrick Smith in the mixed doubles for the Aussies against Swiatek and Hurkacz for a spot in the semi-finals against the Americans.
The $17 million United Cup tournament is worth a maximum of 500 ranking points.
— with Fox Tennis