Alex de Minaur stunned Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 in singles play Wednesday to send 15th-seeded Australia to its first appearance in the United Cup semifinals.
Playing in Perth, Djokovic lost in Australia for the first time since Hyeon Chung eliminated him in the quarterfinals at the 2018 Australian Open.
Djokovic has been dealing with a right wrist injury but said after the match that he expected to be fine in time for the upcoming Australian Open.
Ranked No. 12 in the world, de Minaur won 33 of the 34 points on his first serve to beat the world No. 1 in 94 minutes. Djokovic’s Serbian teammate in the mixed event, Natalija Stevanovic, fell 6-1, 6-1 to Ajla Tomljanovic.
Australia also claimed the mixed-doubles match for a 3-0 win.
No. 1 seed Poland advanced to the semifinals with a sweep of No. 9 China in Perth. In singles play, the tandem of Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek led Poland to its second consecutive United Cup semis with wins over Zhizhen Zhang and Qinwen Zheng, respectively.
Greece advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win against Canada in Sydney.
Stefanos Tsitsipas topped Steven Diez 6-2, 6-3, and Maria Sakkari defeated Leylah Fernandez 7-6 (2), 6-3. The second-seeded Greeks also prevailed in mixed doubles as the seventh-seeded Canadians were ousted.
–Field Level Media
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