Match two: Sramkova levels the tie with gutsy win

World No.43 Rebecca Sramkova levelled the scores for Slovakia after an epic comeback win over Britain’s Katie Boulter 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The win means that the tie will now be decided in the final doubles rubber.

“She was playing amazing in the first set and it was tough for me to play in the rallies,” Sramkova said of Boulter after the match.

“I managed to push more in the second and third set and we’ve managed to get a point.”

In the second meeting between the two this year, it was an edgy first few games as both players failed to hold on their opening service games.

Boulter had been targeting the Slovakian’s backhand to great effect and Srmakova struggled to get on top in the early rallies. The British No.1 broke back straight away before fending off another break point to seal the first hold of the match.

Now with a two-game cushion the Brit was able to relax a bit more into the match and increased her level game after game. The Slovakian won just nine points on serve and a third break from the Brit all but closed out an impressive opening set.

With Slovakia’s Billie Jean King Cup run on the line, Sramkova stepped up to fight back. After clinching just her second hold of the match, the world No.43 managed to get the first break of the second set with an assured backhand winner for a two game advantage.

Sramkova – who is undefeated at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals so far – seemed to be riding a wave as she went on to a 4-1 lead, but Boulter showed great fight to get back to 4-4.

Boulter’s serve has been so effective all week, but so in the second set she won less than half the points on serve. With the set on the line, Boulter missed an easy volley and a backhand into the net, setting up two set points, that Sramkova took at the second time of asking.

The Slovakian continued to move through the gears and made life very difficult for Boulter. From the end of the second set, she won five of six games – capitalising on some wild errors from the Brit to edge 3-1 in front during the decider.

Just when she needed it most however, Boulter dug deep to grind out a gutsy break to get back on serve once again.

The last few games of the match saw some of the best tennis of the match as both nations top-ranked players went toe-to-toe in a pivotal moment of the tie.

There seemed to be an opportunity for Boulter at 15-30 on Sramkova’s serve at 4-4, but the Slovakian proved just a level above in the closing stages, breaking Boulter for a sixth time in the match to see out an inspired win.

Match one: Raducanu clinches tough win over Hruncakova

Great Britain are just one match away from a first Billie Jean King Cup final since 1981 after British No.2 Emma Raducanu defeated Viktoria Hrucakova in the opening match 6-4, 6-4.

Raducanu is now up to six victories for the Brits in seven matches played and showed her quality once again on the biggest stage.

“I’m really pleased with how I composed myself once again and served it out in both sets,” she said. 

“Every match is extremely challenging and as the tournament progresses, it becomes so more and more. Today was a really tough battle because my opponent has a huge ball strike, and she plays way above her ranking.

“I’m happy to come through that because I’ve lost to her before.”

It was a nervy start from Hruncakova who mis-fired on a series of backhands to give Raducanu a break right from the first game.

The British No.2 had to work hard to consolidate the break – seeing off three break points in a 10-minute game to stretch 2-0 in front, which helped her settle more into the rhythm we’ve seen all week.

Raducanu broke again shortly after and had the chance to serve for the set at 5-2, but Hruncakova loosened up and raised her game to another level. The Slovakian found three big forehand winners to get one break back, before a hold of her own cut the gap to just one game.

When the pressure could have been rising for the young Briton she showed great composure. On the second time of asking she managed to comfortably serve out the set and let out a huge roar in celebration.

A very solid all-round performance from the Briton was highlighted on a crucial break of serve at 2-2 in the second set. Raducanu was made to show her defensive qualities with excellent use of the slice to get her opponent out of rhythm and the errors crept back in for Hruncakova – hitting 17 in the second set.

Like in the first set, Raducanu got out to a 5-2 lead, but it felt like deja-vu as Hruncakova reignited her heavy groundstrokes to get back to 5-4.

Steadying herself for another bite at the apple, Raducanu knocked down four straight first serves to see out a hard fought win in an hour and 37 minutes.