Six-time grand slam winner Iga Swiatek has produced a fighting comeback to power Poland to victory in their United Cup opener against Germany in Sydney.
World No.2 Swiatek was staring down the barrel of an upset loss on Monday night when she found herself a set and 1-3 down against world No.39 Eva Lys.
Swiatek reeled off the next five games to take the second set, and the momentum continued in the third as she went on to a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory in two hours, 29 minutes.
The win gave Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie after Hubert Hurkacz put seven months of frustrations behind him in a 6-3 6-4 win over world No.3 Alexander Zverev.
"It was tough," Swiatek said after wrapping up victory.
"I feel like she was really going for it, especially in the first set.
"It's not easy the first match of the season, but I'm happy we won."
Swiatek committed a whopping 22 unforced errors in the opening set, with Lys converting her second set point with a fierce backhand winner.
Lys went up a break in the second, but Swiatek flicked a switch from that moment on to turn the contest on its head.
She won eight of her 18 break point chances, and fired down six aces to zero.
Earlier, former world No.6 Hurkacz fought hard for his upset win over Zverev.
Hurkacz, who underwent knee surgery last year and was playing his first match since June, converted two of his three break point opportunities to seal the 82-minute win.
Now ranked 83, Hurkacz looks on track to make a significant rise up the rankings in 2026 if his performance against Zverev is any indication.
"It's been a while since I've been competing - for seven months I've been going through difficult times with the team," Hurkacz said.
"It was very challenging. They were all supporting me, they were all behind me.
"We went through a period of time not knowing when we could be back on court again.
"I was just trying to cherish and enjoy every moment on the court today."
Hurkacz fired down 21 aces for the match, including eight of his last nine serves of the first set.
"I was serving quite well. I was finding good spots," he said.
"It's a nice feeling to have a a good rhythm on the serve."
