Australia hosts Germany in United Cup SFs as streaking De Minaur, Zverev lead way

Germany may not have won its group at the United Cup, but the nation is two ties away from winning the second edition of the mixed-gender competition. Stationed in Sydney since the start of the tournament, the semi-finalists have been led by the in-form Alexander Zverev, whose twin quarter-final victories against Greece — one in singles against Stefanos Tsitsipas, another in doubles alongside Laura Siegemund — booked Germany a Saturday showdown against hosts Australia.

Zverev, who sits at No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is 5-1 overall at the United Cup, his lone defeat coming in doubles play against fellow semi-finalists France. After improving to 5-9 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with Tsitsipas in a must-win quarter-final rubber, he will now seek to extend his dominance against Australia's Alex de Minaur, against whom he is 6-1.

But De Minaur and the Aussies will enter the semis with supreme confidence, having beaten the defending champions, the United States, to win their group before knocking out Serbia in the quarter-finals, with De Minaur picking up his first win against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

"I think he's playing one of the best tennis of his life. Beating Novak in straight sets, that kind of always shows that you're playing really well." Zverev said of his upcoming opponent. "The last time we played was Rome 2022, so that's a while back. Things have changed a little bit. I think he's gotten a lot better, closing in on the Top 10 as well.

"Of course it's better to have that kind of head-to-head record than the opposite, but I'm expecting a tough match. Especially here, I think he's going to be very motivated and the whole team, Australia, is going to be very motivated — and the crowd definitely plays a factor in that. But I'm looking forward to another tough match."

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While both De Minaur and Zverev are in red-hot form, their singles counterparts have not matched their success so far at the United Cup. Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic brings a 1-2 singles record into the semis, while Germany's Angelique Kerber is still seeking her first singles win of the event.

"To play against Ajla, I think it doesn't matter the head-to-head," said Kerber, who leads the series 3-0. "She is also coming from back injury last year, and I'm also coming back from an 18-month break.

"I'm sure we will have a tough battle tomorrow outside. And also, of course we are playing against Australia. I think the crowd will be amazing. I'm really looking forward to feeling the energy again on court and trying my best to win my match finally."

Zverev issued a vote of confidence for his teammate after her quarter-final defeat against Maria Sakkari: "It can change quickly, especially for a player like Angie," he said. "It can change within one or two points, and then you kind of feel your game. Then you start winning all of a sudden."

The Australian team — and the Sydney crowd — will have their hands full on home soil as they bid to stop the Germans.

"Perth treated us pretty nicely," De Minaur said. "We had a great time over there, we played some great tennis and obviously the goal was to make it to Sydney and I think we're all very happy to be here."