Match schedule & results
Great Britain into semi-finals in Shenzhen
The Lexus GB team are through to the semi-finals in Shenzhen after securing a 2-0 win over Japan at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Two clinical singles wins Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter was all that was needed for Great Britain to punch their ticket to the final four for the third time in four years.
They will now play USA on Saturday after they beat Kazakhstan in their quarter-final tie.
Match two: Boulter seals semi-final spot for the Brits
Boulter wrapped up the tie for the Lexus GB team with an aggressive display against Mokuya Uchijima – winning 6-2, 6-1 in an hour and 10 minutes to send the Brits into the final four.
“Sonay out a clinical performance out there so she makes it really easy to follow”, Boulter said in her on-court interview. “I tried to stay out there as much as possible, focus on myself and not think too much about the occasion – I’m super happy to be through.”
Boulter has consistently delivered for her nation on the big stage over the years and today was no exception for the British No.2, who produced one of her best performances of the season so far.
After a sturdy start from both players, the 29-year-old Brit ramped up the intensity in the fifth game of the match. With two break points in sight, Boulter forced the error out of Uchijima, who sent a forehand long to hand the Brit the breakthrough and spur her on to a run of three games.
The British No.2 maintained her momentum early in the second set as she clinched an immediate break on the 24-year-old’s serve.
Uchijima fought to stay within touching distance of the world No.55 but struggled to counter Boulter’s aggressive and relentless game style. The Briton continued to dial up the pressure and it paid off as she saw off the last four games in a row before closing out victory for her nation in an hour and 10 minutes.
This marked Boulter’s 17th Billie Jean King Cup win for Great Britain.
Match one: Kartal sets the tone for dominant British display
Kartal got the Brits off to a perfect start in their quarter-final meeting against Japan as she beat Eva Shibahara 6-3, 7-6(4) to give her nation an early lead.
Speaking on the win, Kartal said “Their (Japan’s) whole team is super tough so I knew it was not going to be easy in the slightest. I tried to play my game when things got tough and stay aggressive – I backed myself all the way.”
The British No.4 picked up where she left off on the Billie Jean King Cup stage, delivering an impressive performance in just her third tie for her country. The 23-year-old established her dominance early, as she raced out to an early double break, 4-0 lead.
Shibahara soon settled into the match and looked to threaten the comeback as she secured a break to love to narrow the deficit to 4-3. However, Kartal remained composed under pressure and responded by clinching another break to 15 to close out the first set.
The world No.164 fought well to make the second set a more competitive contest and raised her level to stay close to Kartal. With the scoreboard locked at 4-4, Shibahara was given the opportunity to break the Brit but some clinical serving saw Kartal fend off the pressure to eventually force the tie-break.
There, the 23-year-old Brit came out on top – winning six of the last seven points to send the Brits one win away from the semi-finals.
Kartal has now won all three of the Billie Jean King matches she’s contested in.
AloJapan.com