Czech Republic, Slovenia start with wins in Seville

SEVILLE: The 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals got off to a historic start as Slovenia beat Australia 2-1 and the Czech Republic stunned defending champions Switzerland 3-0 to make a winning start to their campaign.

Kaja Juvan put Slovenia ahead with a dominant 6-4 6-1 win over Ajla Tomljanovic before Tamara Zidansek stepped up to beat Daria Saville 6-1 6-4 and clinch the decisive point.

Slovenia could not quite complete a perfect day in the doubles as Storm Hunter partnered Kimberly Birrell for Australia to defeat Veronika Erjavec and Ela Milic 7-5, 6-7 (10-5).

Slovenia are the early leaders in Group B and do not play again until Friday when they take on Kazakhstan, knowing that victory would send them through to the semi-finals. Australia, meanwhile, face the Kazakhs on Thursday and need to win to avoid elimination.

On the other hand, the Czech Republic defeat defending champions Switzerland 3-0 to make the perfect start to the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup campaign.

Czechia’s victory over the defending champions was all about two individuals who might not have been playing had circumstances been different.

Teenage rookie Linda Noskova and fellow debutant Marie Bouzkova posted singles victories over Celina Naef and Viktorija Golubic respectively.

Noskova registered 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-4 win over Naef while Bouzkova beats Golubic 6-4, 6-4.

Further gloss was added to an already pulsating performance by Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the doubles as they dispatched Victorija Golubic and Jil Teichmann 7-6(7-3), 6-2.

Czechia are now a win away from the semi-finals as they hunt a 12th Billie Jean King Cup title. Their next encounter is on Friday against USA, while Switzerland face the same opposition on Thursday in what is a must-win clash if they have design on reaching the knockout stage.

Switzerland’s own preparations have been affected by the absence of Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic, who announced on Friday that she is pregnant and expecting her first child. IANS

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