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Alex de Minaur has added Alexander Zverev to his growing list of summer giant killings, roaring back from a set down to propel Australia to within one win of a spot in the United Cup final.
De Minaur triumphed 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 against the rangy world No.6 and will enter the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time as a result of his pulsating victory.
"It's what I've worked so hard for, it's another milestone," De Minaur said.
"But the job's not done… we keep improving, we keep working — it's going to be a fun Aussie summer".
De Minaur's win squared the tie after Angelique Kerber had beaten Ajla Tomljanović in the women's rubber.
The mixed doubles, with Australia's Storm Hunter and Matthew Ebden facing Laura Siegemund and Maximilian Marterer, will decide who advances to Sunday's final against Poland.
But regardless of the outcome of the decisive doubles, the result against Zverev will only increase the fervour surrounding de Minaur ahead of this month's Australian Open.
After his maiden victory over 24-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic and also defeating big-hitting American Taylor Fritz, Zverev presented another significant challenge.
The Olympic champion boasted a 6-1 head-to-head record against the Australian No.1 prior to Saturday's meeting at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena.
The methodical, often-fiery German got a break late in the first set and ground his way to an assured early lead.
Far from intimidated, de Minaur dug in, the 24-year-old Australian surviving an 11-minute battle to hold serve at 2-2 in the second set before breaking Zverev and squaring the match.
With his confidence emboldened, de Minaur broke Zverev straight away and held on for victory.
"I got out of jail in the second set and the whole momentum changed and got behind me, I just tried to ride the wave," de Minaur said.
Tomlijanović fails to move past Kerber
Three-time grand slam winner Angelique Kerber claimed a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) victory in a helter-skelter opening rubber to put Germany 1-0 up in the tie and one win away from Sunday's final against Poland.
But it need not have been so difficult for the home side when Ajla Tomljanović stepped onto court at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena and looked a cut above the experienced German.
While Tomljanović lost serve on the first game of the match she was composed as she fought back and broke Kerber twice to take a 5-1 lead in the set.
Each one of the Australian's forehands found the furthest corners of the court and Kerber was left chasing her tail.
But then Kerber showed the characteristics that once earned her the world No.1 ranking.
She roared back to trail 5-4 before Tomljanović survived two break points to eke out the set.
Tomljanović's wobbles stretched into the second set, Kerber toying with her as the German squared the match in a little over half an hour.
The pair traded blows throughout an absorbing third set with Tomljanović able to dig deep and send the match to a tiebreaker.
The Australian had two match points, but Kerber kept a cool head and then ruthlessly sealed victory in over two and a half hours of play.
It was Kerber's first win in singles tennis since returning from the birth of her first child.
"Ajla played amazingly and we were both on a high level," Kerber said.
"It's my first singles win since coming back and it's a great feeling.
"Coming out and having such a tough battle and it means a lot to have a match like this before going to the Australian Open".
Świątek beats Garcia
World number one Iga Świątek has survived an early scare to clinch Poland's spot in the United Cup final and a possible showdown with hosts Australia, as her team beat France in Sydney.
Świątek was taken to three sets by former world number four Caroline Garcia, before prevailing 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to wrap up the tie.
Earlier, Hubert Hurkacz had given Poland the lead with a straight sets win over Adrian Mannarino. Poland will now face the winner of tonight's second semifinal between Australia and Germany in Sunday's final.
Playing for an unbeatable 2-0 lead, Świątek struggled early against the world number 20 Caroline Garcia, whose energy and timing was superior after she earned the vital break in the seventh game of the opening set.
A frustrated Świątek could not get Garcia to hand back the break, and the Frenchwoman secured the lead, winning 6-3.
The four-time major title winner was not to be deterred, however. She fought back and grabbed a break in the second game of the second set, and Garcia had no answer as her opponent swept through the set 6-1 to level the match.
A quick break in the opening game gave the advantage to Świątek. Garcia continued to apply pressure, and she had break point opportunities in the second game, but could not convert, and once Świątek held for 2-0 and then broke Garcia again, the air went out of the contest.
Loading...Garcia served to stay in the match in the seventh game, but an opening double fault was followed by winners on opposing wings by Świątek, before a backhand error from the French player ended proceedings.
Świątek was happy with the result and admitted it had not been an easy match.
"I felt there was a lot of tension, also the crowd was so loud that you really needed to stay focused and not think about anything else," she said.
"I'm happy that I came back and I didn't make so many mistakes as in the first set but ...Caro was putting pressure as usual. So I'm happy that we're through to the final.
"I felt like sometimes I was off [on] the timing. Maybe because we came from Perth. But for sure, I needed some time to adjust and I did that so I'm happy."
To start the day, the big-serving world number nine Hurkacz beat the crafty Mannarino, ranked 22 in the world, 6-3, 7-5 in Sydney on Saturday morning.
He called the shots in a comfortable first set then overcame Mannarino's awkward style in an even second set.
The Pole ripped a forehand to break in the 11th game then zoomed through his service game to seal it in one hour and 41 minutes.
Hurkacz won 31 of 36 points when landing his first serve and bombed 15 aces past Mannarino.
"He's really difficult to play against; I was just fighting for every point and I was able stay positive and was really resilient today," Hurkacz said.
The dead rubber mixed doubles went ahead, with Poland completing their victory as Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zieliński defeated Elixane Lechemia and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-3.
ABC/AAP
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