Great Britain's Katie Boulter fell narrowly short of victory against five-time grand slam winner Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals of the United Cup.

The defeat ended Great Britain's hopes of reaching the semi-final, with world number two Swiatek winning  6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-4.

The match itself was an enthralling contest that lasted close to three hours, and world number two Swiatek was relieved to finally get over the line after securing the victory.

“I’m just exhausted, you know?” said Swiatek. “I’m happy that I won so I don’t need to play mixed doubles.

"This match was crazy. So many changes of momentum. I thought I had it under control in the first set but for sure I got tight and didn’t work on it. But then I did not want to repeat the same mistake in the third.”

Boulter had climbed to 24 in the world rankings in 2024 and had battled back from 4-1 down in the first set to take it on a tiebreaker before then getting an early break up in the deciding set as Swiatek took a medical timeout.

“I took four painkillers because a lot hurt, but I’m happy that we won and, for sure, I’m going to use the day off tomorrow.

“I tried to keep pushing, knowing that I need to keep up the quality because with quality I know I’m not going to play the longer rallies if I’m more precise.

“It’s hard to be precise under so much pressure. But I made it today. For sure, it’s a step forward.”

The result means that Poland take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their quarter-final tie against Great Britain, following Hubert Hurcakz's earlier straight-sets victory over Billy Harris (7-6 (3), 7-5).

World number 125 Harris was playing as Britain's leading man in the mixed-gender team event with Jack Draper nursing a hip injury and Cameron Norrie starting the season at an ATP event in Hong Kong.

Harris acquitted himself well, losing serve just once in the match, but was unable to topple 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Hurkacz, who is ranked 16th. The Polish player was in a positive mood following his victory.

“Definitely super pleased with myself,” Hurkacz said. “Today was a really difficult battle with Billy. He was playing some really great tennis and definitely really happy to get through this one.

“This win is so crucial for me to get more confidence and get another match in.”

Following their quarter-final victory, Poland will face Kazakhstan in the United Cup semi-final, with Italy or Czechia facing USA in the other match.