Tennis-Swiatek sends Poland to BJK Cup play-offs, Italy and Sweden go on
Poland’s world number one Iga Swiatek gave Romania Andreea Prisacariu a double bagel on the way to victory in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier last Saturday, securing a 3-0 win in a draw and a place in the November finals for the first time.
Swiatek, who set up their country 2-0 on Friday’s opening day by beating Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1 6-0 for an 18th straight win, continued to stamp their authority on a draw when the 20-year-old beat Prisacariu six times in Radom, Poland. “I’m really proud. I worked really hard for it. Even though I did not play last year, I feel it has been a long journey and it took us a few years to move on step by step and qualify for the final,” said Swiatek after his 6-0 6-0 victory.
“It just shows what a strong team we are. Hopefully in the final we will show even more progress and we will succeed.” With Poland in the final is Kazakhstan, who beat the guests Germany 3-0 with Elena Rybakina who came from a set down to get past the three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber 4-6 6-3 7-5 in Nur-Sultan .
Harriet Dart kept Britain’s hope alive against the Czech Republic by leveling at 2-2, and took her first singles victory in the competition with a 6-0 5-7 6-2 win over 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova. The 25-year-old Dart looked to go on to win the second set before Fruhvirtova saved two match points, but she dug deep to take the equalizer to a double decider.
Earlier, the UK’s US Open champion Emma Raducanu lost 6-1 6-1 against the 2019 runner-up in the French Open Marketa Vondrousova in Prague after fighting with blisters on her right foot. “I definitely think I gave my team a little heart attack,” Dart said. “It’s natural that I was a little nervous about trying to close it.
“Linda is a fantastic player … She fought really hard and I’m just really happy to get through.” Four-time winners Italy also advanced after Camila Giorgi, who had given her country a 2-0 lead on Friday, secured the decisive point in her victory over France in Sardinia with a 6-2 6-0 steal by Harmony Tan.
Spain will bid for a sixth title, despite missing Paula Badosa and Garbine Muguruza this weekend, after Sara Sorribe’s Tormo beat Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-0 6-4 to secure their place in the final. Canada, led by US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, and the United States are also in the best position to advance with 2-0 lead before resuming their ties against Latvia and Ukraine later on Saturday.
Belgium is already in the final after receiving a walkover where opponents Belarus were suspended from international team competitions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarus is a key area for the invasion, which Russia calls a “special operation”.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)