No.48 Magda Linette secured the winning point for Poland at the United Cup, defeating Kazakhstan's Zhibek Kulambayeva 6-2, 6-1 in Brisbane. 

The victory gave Poland an insurmountable lead over Kazakhstan, before Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz teamed up to knock off Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin in straight sets to give Poland the 4-1 win. 

No.1 Swiatek wins season opener at United Cup

Hurkacz earned a critical win earlier in the session, defeating Alexander Bublik 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-3 to give Poland a 2-1 lead against Kazakhstan. The match appeared destined for a final-set tiebreak between two of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour, but Hurkacz was opportunistic at the most critical moment.

Shot of the year already? Swiatek goes around the post at United Cup

On his third break point at 4-3, he hit a well-placed return deep in the court to put Bublik on the back foot, then rushed forward and executed a perfect half volley to elicit an easy putaway.

If Hurkacz had any nerves as he stepped to the line to serve for the victory, he did not show them. He held to love, crushing his 18th ace of the match to win in 2 hours and 9 minutes.

"Following Hubi was great," Linette said. "Watching that match from them was nerve-wracking. But it was really nice coming with the advantage of knowing he won. It was great and I just did my job."

Linette, 22, was clinical in her first match of the season, showing her quality and experience against Kulambayeva, who has become a fan favorite in Brisbane. The 441st-ranked player had no answers for Linette's baseline consistency. Linette fired 18 groundstroke winners in the match while limiting Kulambayeva to just five in the 61-minute match.

Poland will turnaround to face Switzerland on Monday. The tie will feature an enticing showdown between Swiatek and Belinda Bencic as well as Hurkacz against Stan Wawrinka. 

The ATP Tour contributed to this report.