Great Britain’s hopes of reaching the Billie Jean King Cup final for the first time in 43 years were ended as they suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat by a spirited Slovakia team on Tuesday.
“Gutted,” said Anne Keothavong, the team captain. “I think we’re all absolutely gutted. We came into this event really believing that we had a good shot at it, and unfortunately we fell short. We came up against a better team. But it’s still pretty raw right now. It’s quite difficult to find the right words.”
The day had started positively as Emma Raducanu won her third match of the week in Málaga, this time defeating Slovakia’s Viktoria Hruncakova 6-4, 6-4 to establish a 1-0 lead for Great Britain.
Katie Boulter continued to perform at an extremely high level early on against the in-form Rebecca Sramkova before losing control of her serve. She was eventually reeled back in by a gritty, resourceful performance from Sramkova 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
With Raducanu and Boulter proving so decisive for Great Britain throughout their run this year, the doubles team of Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls had not been required to compete at all in the competition this year. Thrust into fray under pressure in such an important match, the pair started slowly and never recovered as they were comprehensively defeated 6-2, 6-2 by Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova.
Although the opening contest will not be remembered as a classic, Raducanu handled her business against a lesser opponent. She kept her error count low, striking only nine unforced errors to 26 from Hruncakova, defended well and competed strongly to close out the victory.
Despite her disappointment after the tie, Raducanu chose to reflect on the positive progress she made this week. After a frustrating two-month layoff following the foot injury she suffered in Seoul, Raducanu has finished the season with three wins and no further physical setbacks. “There are a lot of positives for me to take individually,” she said. “I think I did pretty well, and it was obviously made a lot easier by having a great team behind me. Everyone was really working to help each other and push each other to do better.”
The tie ultimately hinged on the tense, nervous battle between Boulter and Sramkova, where the former had started on fire, picking up from where she left off in previous matches. She served extremely well and hunted down forehands as she blew her opponent away with massive ball-striking.
Sramkova, however, has been in the form of her life, rising from world No 136 to 43 in just a couple of months. A great athlete and a resourceful player, Sramkova makes her opponents work hard for any wins. She responded immediately, serving more precisely, improving her length and dragging Boulter into lengthier exchanges while targeting her backhand side. Under greater pressure, Boulter began to struggle with her serve from early in the second set, losing her rhythm off the ground, and her inability to adapt her game and problem solve was laid bare.
“I felt like I started to struggle a little bit on serve,” said an emotional Boulter. “That basically was the match for me. I was still there fighting, giving everything I possibly could, but ultimately I didn’t serve well enough, which kind of cost me the match. But credit to her. She played some very good tennis and started to adapt from the way I was playing in the first set and, I mean, it’s natural for players to do that. I couldn’t dig it out in the end, but I gave it everything I got.”
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Considering the level that Great Britain had been performing at and the fair draw they received, the defeat is a massive missed opportunity for a team that had more than enough quality to defeat Slovakia and compete for the title. However, they have also performed extremely well this year and a second semi-final run in three years underlines the quality they possess, particularly with their singles players. They may well create more opportunities in the future.
“It just hurts right now,” said Keothavong. “Yes, I think I can take confidence from the fact that we’ve got incredible players in the UK. We’ve shown with our best players what’s possible. We came close. It wasn’t to be on this occasion, but that’s not to say next year – whether it’s next year or the year after, we’re going to have chances in this competition. I do really believe that.”
Slovakia will face Italy in Wednesday’s Billie Jean King Cup final as they try to win the title for a second time. Italy defeated Iga Swiatek’s Poland team 2-1 in a dramatic encounter on Monday night.
