Great Britain through to Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter won their singles ties against Canada as team Great Britain booked a place in the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.
Canada came into finals week in Spain as defending champions but Raducanu toppled Rebecca Marino 6-0 7-5 and Boulter beat Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-4 to give Britain a 2-0 lead in the best of three tie.
Great Britain – whose team is captained by Anne Keothavong and also features Heather Watson, Olivia Nicholls and Harriet Dart – will take on Slovakia in the final four, who beat Australia in their last eight tie.
The winners of the semi-final this week will take on either Italy or Poland in the final.
“It was an incredibly difficult match because the dynamics were so different in each of the sets,” Raducanu said. “I am very pleased with how I managed to fend off break points then sneak my own break point.
“I knew I had to dig in and fight. It was a great honour to play in front of Billie Jean King.”
The Billie Jean King Cup is seen as the world cup of women’s tennis and is the equivalent to the Davis Cup, which Great Britain won in 2015.
Great Britain reached the final of the competition – then named the Federation Cup – in 1981 with Sue Barker, Virginia Wade and Jo Durie but have never won it. Britain lost 3-0