Iga Swiatek fends off Katie Boulter to put Poland into 2025 United Cup semi-final thriller

Tennis star Katie Boulter has put up a great fight but failed to thwart the world number one, Iga Swiatek, in the ongoing 2025 United Cup, losing a high-quality thriller by 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinal of the showpiece event. That result, combined with the earlier singles in which Billy Harris lost in straight sets to star player Hubert Hurkacz, guided Poland to make it to the top four of the competition, where they are set to face off against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

With big-serving Hurkacz having toppled Harris already in the opening encounter, the pressure was fully on Katie Boulter to deliver against five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek. It's worth mentioning to note that the two had never met previously, and while Boulter upset the odds to take the first set, she failed to maintain her dominating form heading to the second set against the Polish star.

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iga swiatek the goat that you are pic.twitter.com/3YnXLgBEIF

— amelia (@amelieasw) January 2, 2025

In some moments I knew I could be more brave, and in the end I was able to, so I was happy: Iga Swaitek

Swiatek was already match-sharp, having played and toppled Karolina Muchova in the last round of the game, and she took the game into the decider in a dominant fashion after breaking Boulter's serve three times in the second set of the game. The star player just managed to somehow sneak over the finishing line, ensuring that Poland advances to the semi-final thriller.

Iga Comes Through EPIC! 🥵@iga_swiatek defeats Boulter 6-7 6-1 6-4 after 2hrs 56mins to send Poland into the semi-finals#UnitedCuppic.twitter.com/rjQ8IbHpmp

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 2, 2025

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"This match was crazy. So many changes of momentum. I thought I had it under control in the first set, but for sure I got tight and I didn't work on it. I didn't want to repeat the mistake in the third. I tried to keep pushing, knowing that I had to keep up the quality. But I made it today. For sure, it's a step forward. In some moments I knew I could be more brave, and in the end I was able to, so I was happy," Swiatek said.

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