Frustratingly winless in his opening two singles matches, Hurkacz finally lived up to his world No.16 standing to see off the 125th-ranked Billy Harris in a tight encounter to give Poland a 1-0 lead over Great Britain on Thursday night.
A late replacement for Jack Draper, Harris was again gallant for Team GB before succumbing 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to Hurkacz in somewhat of a serving shootout at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena.
Forever known as the last man to ever topple the great Roger Federer at Wimbledon, Hurkacz has failed to fire on all four cylinders this week.
The former world No.6 has openly credited five-time women's grand slam champion Iga Swiatek for carrying Poland into the last eight with an undefeated run in both singles and mixed doubles thus far.
So Hurkacz was suitably relieved to have resisted Harris's spirited challenge.
"Oh, definitely, definitely super pleased with myself today," he said.
"It was a really, really difficult battle with Billy.
"He was playing some really great tennis and definitely really happy to go through this one."
Too good from Hubi 😮�💨— ATP Tour (@atptour) @HubertHurkacz | #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/sxYGutRdi1January 2, 2025
Hurkacz has undergone a racquet, clothing and coaching change, mostly significantly bringing in the legendary Ivan Lendl and dual Olympic gold medallist Nicolas Massu into his team, in a bid to take the next step in 2025.
"It's a long story," he said.
"It's going to take time until everything will be really fruitful, until I'll be really playing my best game.
"So this win is so crucial for me to get more confidence and to get another match (at the United Cup before the Australian Open)."
The second-ranked Swiatek can ensure Hurkacz gets that extra match, in a semi-final against Kazakhstan on Saturday, if she can seal Poland's victory with a win over Katie Boulter in the women's singles rubber.
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