Iga Swiatek continued to show why she is one of the best players on the tennis circuit as she dismissed Elena Rybakina in straight sets to put Poland in the United Cup final.
The world No.2 endured a gruelling two-hour contest against Rybakina, with the pair battling in 30 degree heat with 40 per cent humidity.
It took 72 minutes for a winner to be found in the first set as Swiatek battled from behind to force Rybakina into a tie breaker.
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The Kazakhstani star managed to save five break points, but could not withhold Swiatek from claiming the first victory.
"That was a battle that gave us everything and more," Abigail Johnson said on Nine.
"That was incredible."
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in action against Iga Swiatek. Getty
Rybakina, world No.7, continued to impress against her higher-seeded rival but eventually it all landed in favour of Swiatek.
While the win assures a guaranteed spot for Poland into the final, an injury cloud still remained over Swiatek as she took to the court with bandaging around her right left.
When asked about the strapping, Swiatek replied: "I'm going to be okay."
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"On my last match, it hurt for some time and I think I was panicking [about the aching in her leg]… I am ready to play some more matches.
"I'm not going to be the freshest player. It's hard to be in this format and I'm also playing mixed. It is not easy to recover when you are finishing, going to the hotel at 1am and going to sleep, so especially this win makes me really proud."
Iga Swiatek of Team Poland Getty
Swiatek admitted the challenge of the United Cup is "perfect preparation" ahead of the Australian Open, but a battle against Rybakina was never going to be easy.
''Honestly, that's the first time I was able to win on that surface so it means a lot," she said.
"I did not start well and I thought I had the handbrake on a bit. I knew I needed to do something or this match was going to go to waste.
"I wanted really to work and it change the momentum and I'm happy that I did that in the first set. I told myself that I'm not going to miss any more shots.
"It was tough, it is always tough against Elena and it means a lot to me to play her, especially after the intense days.
"It's not easy but I just thought, 'I have nothing to lose'."
Earlier, a rough start to his United Cup campaign was not enough to rattle Hubert Hurkacz, with the Polish star dismissing Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets to take the lead against Kazakhstan.
Off the back of consecutive defeats in the group stage against Casper Rudd and Tomas Machac, Hurkacz was left to re-evaluate his strategy and produce hard-hitting shots.
A quarter final win over Billy Harris lifted his spirits ahead of the semi finals, with the task of Shevchenko quickly supported his redemption arc.
Hurkacz dominated along the baseline and tore apart his rival on the serve, recording an 80 per cent success rate for first-serve points.
Poland will play the winner of the second semi final where team USA face Czechia.
The final will be the second-consecutive time team Poland have qualified.