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The Italian national team returns to action on Friday at 7:30 AM (CET) at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena to take on the Czech Republic in the United Cup quarterfinals. The mixed-team tournament, marking the start of the tennis season, is exclusively broadcast by SuperTennis. The Czech Republic, initially eliminated in the group stage but brought back as one of the best runners-up, will compete for a semifinal spot against Italy, fresh off an impressive 3-0 win over France. The Italian squad, featuring Jasmine Paolini, Flavio Cobolli, Andrea Vavassori, Matteo Gigante, Angelica Moratelli, and Sara Errani, aims to keep their strong momentum.
Poland, led by Iga Swiatek, secured a spot as Group B winners after defeating the Czech Republic 2-1. While Hubert Hurkacz fell to Tomas Machac in the opening singles match, Swiatek leveled the score with a victory over Karolina Muchova. The decisive point came in mixed doubles, where Swiatek and Hurkacz triumphed over the pairing of Muchova and Machac. Poland will face Great Britain in the quarterfinals, while Australia, despite a final win, was eliminated.
One of the tournament’s surprises came from Kazakhstan, which advanced to the semifinals by defeating defending champions Germany 2-1. The absence of Alexander Zverev proved costly for the Germans, as Elena Rybakina and Alexander Shevchenko secured the key victories for Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile, the United States booked their semifinal spot with a commanding 2-0 win over China. Coco Gauff opened with a victory against Shuai Zhang, followed by Taylor Fritz defeating Zhizhen Zhang. The Americans now await the winner of the Italy vs. Czech Republic matchup as they continue their title quest.
