Nov 19, 2024, 07:52 AM ET
The Billie Jean King Cup semifinal between Britain and Slovakia is headed to a deciding doubles match after Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter split the singles contests against Viktoria Hruncakova and Rebecca Sramkova on Tuesday.
In Tuesday’s first game, Raducanu put together one of her best performances of the year to beat Hruncakova in straight sets.
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The 22-year-old has already beaten Germany’s Jule Niemeier and Canada’s Rebecca Marino in the competition and showed imperious form to race into a 5-1 lead in the opening set on Tuesday.
A wobble followed, with a double fault on break point scuppering her first attempt to serve out the set, but the 2021 US Open winner recovered to claim it 6-4 in front of a crowd dominated by Union Jacks.
The second set was a tighter affair from the outset, staying on serve until its fifth game where Raducanu sent down some brutal returns to seize the initiative.
A tense hold followed, but the Brit soon pressed home her advantage with another break and eventually claimed the contest 6-4, 6-4.
Boulter then took to the court and made an excellent start, breaking Sramkova’s serve in the very first game of the match.
The world No. 24 lost her own first service game immediately afterwards but then settled, relying on an aggressive forehand to dominate the rallies and eventually claiming the first set 6-2.
Emma Raducanu beat Viktoria Hruncakova to give the British team the lead in the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals. Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA
Sramkova responded impressively, starting the second set with a love hold of serve before breaking Boulter enroute to racing into a 4-1 lead.
The Brit then bounced back herself to level scores at 4-4 before undoing her hard work with a series of unforced errors that allowed Sramkova, the world No. 43, to take the match to a deciding set — the first three-set affair the British team has played since arriving in Spain.
The third saw the crowd become more raucous, and the Slovak star seemed to use that energy as she broke Boulter early to establish a comfortable lead with a remarkable backhand winner.
Frustration from both players became evident but Boulter once again reached deep into her reserves to wrestle back impetus and re-establish parity at 3-3.
The match remained on a knife’s edge until an untimely double fault from Boulter gifted her opponent two match points, with Sramkova taking advantage of the second to send the tie to the doubles with a 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 win.
Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls will now play against Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova to see if Anne Keothavong’s team can become the first British team to win the tournament in its history, having finished as runners-up on four occasions (1967, 1971, 1972, 1981).
The winner of will face Italy in the final after Jasmine Paolini and co. overcame Iga Swiatek’s Poland on Monday.
