Germany powered into the final of the United Cup mixed team tournament with a nerve-wracking 2-1 win over host Australia on Saturday to set up a summit clash with Poland, which swept France aside 3-0.
In a lengthy semifinal that eventually finished well past 2 a.m. local time, Germany’s mixed doubles duo of Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund got the better of Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter in the decider after the teams split the singles.
Angelique Kerber had given Germany the lead when she beat Ajla Tomljanovic but Australia struck back when Alex de Minaur, roared on by the home support, came from behind to defeat Zverev 5-7 6-3 6-4.
Zverev had only 25 minutes between the singles and doubles matches, but that did not stop him, and he partnered with Siegemund to beat the Australian pair 7-6(2) 6-7(2) 15-13 in a contest where both sides saved several match points.
“After the singles match it was obviously disappointing, but I thought the level of the match was extremely high,” said an exhausted Zverev, who was visibly cramping up after a total of five hours on court.
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“We were still in the tie, and we still had a chance to win it, and I’m happy that we did that today.”
Kerber had recovered from a set down and saved two match points to beat Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6 6-2 7-6(7) for her first singles win since her 18-month maternity break.
“I just tried to play as many matches as possible before going to Melbourne. I tried to learn from my last three matches,” Kerber said.
“Coming out here and winning such a tough battle means a lot to me. It means a lot to have a match like this before going to the Australian Open.”
The Australian Open runs from January 14-28.
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