Great Britain dumped out of Billie Jean King Cup
Great Britain were eliminated from the Billie Jean King Cup on Tuesday with Emma Raducanu the only player to register a win in the semi-finals.
The former US Open champion beat Viktoria Hruncakova 6-4 6-4 to put Great Britain 1-0 up in the best-of-three tie against Slovakia.
But Katie Boulter was beaten 6-2 4-6 4-6 by Rebecca Sramkova to send the tie to a doubles decider.
Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls, however, couldn’t topple Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova in Malaga – losing 6-2 6-2 – as Great Britain were dumped out of the Billie Jean King Cup.
Tie winners Slovakia will take on Italy in Friday’s final.
“Every match is truly challenging,” Raducanu said. “As the tournament progresses, it’s more and more. Today was a really tough battle.”
The crowds diminished during the day, however, with Rafael Nadal competing in his Davis Cup tie next door. The Davis Cup is the men’s equivalent of the Billie Jean King Cup.
Fellow tennis legend Roger Federer paid tribute to his “friend” before his tie in Malaga, with the Davis Cup the Spaniard’s last competition before retirement.
“As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional,” Federer wrote in a social media post.
“Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me – a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground.
“And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more.”