Iga Swiatek comeback victory over France’s Caroline Garcia puts Poland into United Cup final

Iga Swiatek came from a set down to beat Caroline Garcia on Saturday, guiding Poland to the United Cup final ahead of the Australian Open.

The world No. 1 faced the experienced French player Garcia and while she went down 4-6 in the first set, she rallied strongly to win 6-1, 6-1 in the next two sets.

Remarkably, that 6-4 setback was the first time Swiatek had dropped a set since October 2023 – also against Garcia.

The win now moves her to 15 consecutive wins as she continues her form after a resurgent finish to last season.

Swiatek’s win meant that Poland built an unbeatable 2-0 lead against France after her teammate and men’s No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3 7-5.

The score moved to a 3-0 whitewash as Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski then claimed a win in the mixed doubles.

“Mentally I needed to make a big adjustment because I was being impatient,” Swiatek said after her win.

“I was making bad decisions and I needed to be more composed.

“After the break after the first set I came back more focused, so I’m pretty proud of myself.”

“Even though the surface is really similar, I would say I felt a little bit off with my rhythm,” she added.

“I just knew I need some time for my brain to work on it.”

Poland will face the winner of Australia v Germany in the final. They are the tournament’s top seeds and have suffered just a single defeat on the way to the final.