France defeated Norway in the deciding mixed doubles match Thursday to set up a United Cup semifinal against top-seeded Poland.
Caroline Garcia and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Ulrikke Eikeri and Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4 to end a tie that stretched nearly 6½ hours.
The first set was a tight affair until France broke serve to make it 6-5 before holding to win the opener and then made the only break in the second set for a 2-1 lead.
Ruud forced the quarterfinal to a decider by downing Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-4 after Garcia put France up 1-0 by edging Malene Helgo 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5).
Garcia, ranked 20th and the 2022 WTA Finals champion, had to work for more than 2½ hours against 544th-ranked Helgo.
“It was a crazy match, a crazy performance from Helgo,” Garcia said. “I didn’t know her very well, and she just played a crazy match, was hitting the ball so well.”
Ruud outclassed Mannarino in the men’s singles.
“I don’t think I faced a break point,” Ruud said. “So that’s great for my standards of serving … and putting Norway back on the board.”
Who meets Australia in the other semifinal Saturday will be decided between Greece and Germany on Friday. The final on Sunday is at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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