Great Britain progressed to the quarter-finals of the United Cup in Sydney despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to host nation Australia in their second Group F tie.
The Brits already had one foot in the last eight after conquering Argentina 2-1 in their inaugural battle, and Katie Boulter all but made sure of her nation's progression in her showdown with Olivia Gadecki on Wednesday.
The British women's number one comfortably defeated Gadecki 6-2 6-1, but her fiance - Australia's Alex de Minaur - then thrashed Billy Harris by the same scoreline to take the tie to a deciding doubles rubber.
De Minaur and Gadecki teamed up to face off with Charles Broom and Olivia Nicholls, and it was the Aussies who prevailed 6-3 7-6[3] to complete a 2-1 fightback success.
Great Britain's defeat coupled with Argentina's earlier win over Australia means that all three nations in Group F finish with one victory each, as well as three matches won and lost, but the Brits have just pipped their two foes to top spot.
Alex Ward's team advanced to the last eight as group winners thanks to their superior percentage of sets won - 58% - while also prevailing in 51% of their games, marginally better than Argentina and Australia's 50%.
Who will Great Britain face in United Cup quarters?
Big Time Boulter 🤩@katiecboulter gives Great Britain the best start possible with a 6-2 6-1 win over Gadecki!#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/h1EvyOCCBZ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 1, 2025
As Group F winners, GB have been rewarded with one of the most daunting tests international tennis could throw at them; they must pit their wits against Poland for a spot in the semi-finals.
The Poles - led by former world number one Iga Swiatek - defeated both the Czech Republic and Norway in Group B to cruise into the quarters, and Boulter is set to play the second match of the quarter-final tie against none other than Swiatek.
Harris - who is deputising for the injured Jack Draper - faces an equally challenging battle with two-time Masters champion and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz first up, although the latter did lose both of his singles matches in Group B to Casper Ruud and Tomas Machac.
If Poland and GB are tied at 1-1 following the two singles matches, Swiatek and Hurkacz will team up to face Broom and Boulter in the deciding doubles battle; the winner will earn a date with Kazakhstan in the semi-finals.
GB's quarter-final with Poland takes place at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney on Thursday, starting at 5.30pm local time or 6.30am UK time.
Ben Knapton
