Shevchenko and Rybakina guide Kazakhstan to their first-ever semifinal appearance in United Cup

In what seems to be a historic achievement for Kazakhstan, Alexander Shevchenko and Elena Rybakina managed to guide their team to the semi-finals of the United Cup for the first time in the history of the tournament. Alexander’s win on Wednesday in the Quarter-Finals confirmed Kazakhstan’s spot in the semi-finals of the tournament. 

The 24-year-old star outplayed Germany’s Daniel Masur in the QF clash by a margin of 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2 in a hard-fought game at Perth. With his win, Kazakhstan have secured an unassailable lead of 2-0 in their Quarter-Final game against the defending champions Germany.

I’m proud that I found this win for our team – Alexander Shevchenko

Masur took on Alexander in the quarter-final, replacing World No. 2 Alexander Zverev who had to withdraw from the United Cup 2025 due to a strain in his bicep. However, Daniel Masur failed to avoid the Kazakh upset in the quarter-final, which eventually knocked Germany out of contention for the semi-finals of the tournament.

“It was a struggle in this heat, he made me run a lot, and he was more aggressive, that’s why I got tired, my head was spinning,” said Shevchenko after the clash against Masur.

“I’m proud that I found this win for our team because I was fighting hard. I saw the faces of my team, and they didn’t want to go to a decider. I was also a little bit nervous because I knew if I won, the tie was over,” he added later.

Earlier before Shevchenko faced Masur, World No. 6 Kazakh star Elena Rybakina had defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the first knockout game, which was played as a ‘women’s singles’ clash. Rybakina defeated Laura Siegemund in straight sets by a margin of 6-3, 6-1 to get a 1-0 lead in Kazakhstan’s favour. 

“Feeling better on the court and physically also. It was a long trip. It’s not easy at the beginning but really happy with the performance and looking forward to the next match,” said Rybakina after the clash.