SYDNEY: Poland battled past Switzerland 2-1 in the United Cup final on Sunday to banish the pain of title-round defeats in the previous two editions and secure a long-awaited maiden triumph in the season-opening mixed-team competition.
Hubert Hurkacz continued his resurgence in his first event back after a near seven-month injury layoff by beating veteran Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to level the tie at 1-1 after Iga Swiatek lost 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to an inspired Belinda Bencic.
The mixed doubles duo of Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski then downed Bencic and Jakub Paul 6-4, 6-3 in the deciding match to trigger jubilant scenes in Sydney, where Poland finally converted their dominance into silverware.