Match Details
Fixture: (POL) Hubert Hurkacz vs (KAZ) Alexander Shevchenko
Date: January 4, 2025
Tournament: United Cup 2025
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, Australia
Category: United Cup
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize Money: US$11,170,000
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN, RDS
Hubert Hurkacz vs Alexander Shevchenko preview
Poland's Hubert Hurkacz will take on Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko in the semifinals of the United Cup 2025.
Hurkacz suffered a 7-5, 6-3 loss against Norway's Casper Ruud in his first match of the group stage. However, Iga Swiatek won her singles and mixed doubles matches to seal the tie in Poland's favor. The 27-year old went down to Czechia's Tomas Machac in three sets in his next match.
Swiatek once again won her singles match, and Hurkacz teamed up with her to win the mixed doubles rubber and send Poland into the quarterfinals. He tallied his first singles win of the tournament by beating Great Britain's Billy Harris 7-6 (3), 7-5. Poland won their next two matches to complete a 3-0 clean sweep and advance to the semifinals.
Shevchenko slumped to a 6-2, 6-1 loss against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta in his United Cup opener. However, he joined forces with Elena Rybakina to win the decisive mixed doubles match to win the tie 2-1 against the Spaniards. He scored a 6-4, 7-6 (0) win over Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in his next match, and the Kazakhs beat the Greeks 3-0 to make the quarterfinals.
Rybakina won her singles match against Germany's Laura Siegemund to put her team one win away from the semifinals. Shevchenko then got the job done as he rallied from a set down to beat Daniel Masur 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Alexander Shevchenko head-to-head
Hurkacz leads Shevchenko 3-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at last year's Miami Open in three sets.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Alexander Shevchenko odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Hubert Hurkacz vs Alexander Shevchenko prediction
Hurkacz has won only one of his three singles matches here thus far, with his only win coming against World No. 125 Billy Harris. Shevchenko, meanwhile, won two of his three singles matches, including a win over World No. 11 Tsitsipas.
However, Hurkacz will be glad to encounter a player against whom he has a perfect winning record at such a crucial stage of the tournament. He has won all three of his previous matches against Shevchenko. While he cruised to an easy win against him on indoor hardcourts, he needed three sets to beat him when they competed outdoors the other two times.
Hurkacz had better results in last year's edition of the United Cup. Prior to the semifinals, he won two of his three matches, and his only loss was a tough three-setter. While he has underperformed this year, his record against Shevchenko still makes him the favorite in this match.
Pick: Hubert Hurkacz to win in three sets.