Slovakia beat Britain to meet Italy in BJK Cup title match
Slovakia swept past Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup semifinal doubles decider on Tuesday to seal a 2-1 victory and set up a title showdown with Italy.
Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova saw off British duo Olivia Nicholls and Heather Watson 6-2, 6-2 in the decisive rubber. Slovakia, the 2002 winners, face last year's runners-up Italy in Wednesday's final.
Raw emotion 😱
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 19, 2024
Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova book Slovakia's tickets to the final for only the second time in their history!#BJKCup pic.twitter.com/YjFfJNiexb
Emma Raducanu, who won the US Open in 2021, won the opening singles tie 6-4, 6-4 against Hruncakova to keep four-time runners-up Britain's hopes of a first final in 43 years alive.
But Rebecca Sramkova's comeback from a set down to beat British No 1 Katie Boulter 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 forced a decisive doubles rubber which Slovakia dominated.
Sramkova comes from behind 💪
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 19, 2024
The Slovakian keeps her team's hopes alive of reaching the #BJKCup final 🇸🇰 pic.twitter.com/2flfr5xpM0
On Monday, Italy reached a second consecutive BJK Cup final with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Iga Swiatek's Poland in Malaga.
Advertisement