Despite
Poland's loss in the
United Cup final,
Iga Swiatek won the MVP award after an
impressive run in the tournament with five consecutive victories, only dropping
a set against Caroline Garcia in the semifinal but ultimately securing the win.
The world
No. 1 led the Polish team throughout the tournament, competing in women's
singles and mixed doubles alongside world No. 10
Hubert Hurkacz. In the final,
they faced Germany, where Swiatek secured a victory against Angelique Kerber
(6-3, 6-0).
However,
luck was not on Poland's side as, in the second match, Hubert Hurkacz
squandered two Championship points against Alexander Zverev, who eventually
turned the match around to win 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. In the decisive mixed doubles
match, the Polish team took the court, but Zverev teamed up with Laura
Siegemund to ultimately claim the title with a score of 4-6, 7-5, [10-4].
MVP despite Poland's loss
Nevertheless,
the MVP was Swiatek, who will enter the Australian Open with high spirits as
the tournament's top seed. Her teammate throughout the tournament, Hubert
Hurkacz, congratulated his compatriot for the recognition: “Congrats Iga for
the MVP trophy. She definitely deserves it. She’s #1 in the world & she
showed it here. So much fun watching her play. She was carrying me on mixed
doubles,” Hurkacz said to his partner after losing the United Cup final.
The 4-times
Grand Slam champion also expressed gratitude for the recognition and, despite
the loss in the final, highlighted the positive aspect of the Polish team's
performance: “It was really tight. Last year we made it to the semi-finals,
this year to the final, so hopefully the next step is going to be winning,”
Swiatek said.
“For sure
we’re making progress and I want to thank my team, all the players, the captain
[Tomasz Wiktorowski], who I convinced to be a captain. And he did an amazing
job, really supported us throughout the whole tournament,” she added.
