Switzerland advances to the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup thanks to the victories of VIKTORIJA GOLUBIC and BELINDA BENCIC
A 2-1 victory against Canada in a winner-take-all match sent Switzerland to the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow.
Switzerland
Viktorija Golubic, playing for the 2021 runners-up, got off to a great start in the first singles match by defeating Bianca Andreescu, playing for the 2021 champions, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Canadian Leylah Fernandez needed an upset victory against world No. 12 Belinda Bencic, but Olympic champion Bencic prevailed 6-0, 7-5.
Finally, Fernandez paired up with Gabriela Dabrowski in the doubles round, and the two put on a show by defeating the Swiss duo of Jil Teichmann and Simona Waltert 6-2, 6-1, but it was too little, too late.
After beating the United States, Switzerland will play the Czech Republic in the semi-finals, where they will try to avenge last year’s final loss to Russia.
In her own words, Bencic is “going pretty well” and “trying to work and fight for every point.”
To that, she said, “I believe then you get into the rhythm a little bit, and of course it feels amazing to be pushed by my team and simply to wear the heart on the sleeve.”
Both Canada and Switzerland were under intense pressure after defeating Italy 3-0 to force a sudden death shootout for first place in Group A.
Since only the four round-robin stage group winners would advance to the knockout rounds, every move had to count.
When the first singles match began, Andreescu was the odds-on favorite despite being 32 places lower in the global rankings than her opponent, Golubic, who had replaced Teichmann after the latter spent more than four hours on the court on Wednesday.
Starting strong, the Canadian won the first set 6-2 because to her superior strength and the three breaks she found in a succession.
But Golubic reacted beautifully, breaking early in the second set and remaining strong on serve to pull level, before carrying that confidence into the deciding set and delivering a complete showreel of shot-making talents en route to a remarkable triumph in two hours and eight minutes.
It really drained me today, and I appreciate all the encouragement I received from my colleagues “to paraphrase Golubic.
Also, she said “Because I didn’t get off to a great start, I’m very sure I would have lost in straight sets if not for their encouragement. It was a tremendous battle, and I was able to draw energy from the fans as well.
Consequently, Fernandez needed to win her second singles match, but she got off to a terrible start, being blown out in the first set.
Both players were broken in their first service games of the second set, making it a competitive match until Bencic won the set 7-5 thanks to a pair of breaks late in the set.
Bencic won in one hour and twenty-nine minutes after making just 17 unforced errors to Fernandez’s 24.
After a 2-1 win against the United States, the Czech Republic advanced to the semi-finals and will now play Switzerland.
In the first singles match, Marketa Vondrousova beat Danielle Collins 6-3, 6-3, putting the Czech Republic one victory away from the semifinals.
World No. 99 Cilic defeated No. 12 Collins, the runner-up at the Australian Open, in only one hour and twelve minutes.
After Collins took a 3-1 lead in the first set thanks to a break, Vondrousova stormed back to win the next eight games in a row to won the set and the match by breaking the American four times.
From then, it remained on serve as the 23-year-old wrapped off an amazing win, putting the United States’ chances in the hands of Coco Gauff’s match against Katerina Siniakova.
But Gauff couldn’t pull off the victory, losing 7-6(1) 6-1 to Siniakova, who shocked the world No. 7.
The opening set went back and forth with each player gaining a break before it went to a tie-break, which Siniakova won 7-1.
However, Gauff crumbled under her opponent’s onslaught in the second set, making 19 unforced mistakes and giving Siniakova an easy way to win.
After the Czech Republic had already qualified, the final match pitted American combination Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend against the Czech combo of Karolina Muchova and Karolina Pliskova.
The United States, like their Canadian counterparts, won their last match in straight sets, beating the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3. However, unlike Canada, the Czech Republic advanced to the semifinals, against Switzerland.
After winning on Thursday, both Great Britain and Australia advanced to the other semi-final.
After losing to Kazakhstan, the British team stunned the tournament by defeating Spain by a score of 3-0.
