Seven-time champion Australia is the first finalist in this year’s edition of the Billie Jean Cup women’s tennis tournament. In the British city of Glasgow, the Australian women defeated Great Britain by 2-1 and will fight for the eighth trophy in their history.
In the first singles match, Storm Sanders beat Heather Watson by 2-0 (6:4, 7:6), then the world’s No 98 Harriet Dart sensationally defeated Ajla Tomljanovic by 2-0 (7:6, 6:2) and equalized the over score.
“I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t get the result I wanted today for the team, but I gave it my all. It was still a good game”, commented Heather Watson after the match.
In the decisive doubles match, Samantha Stosur and Storm Sanders dramatically defeated Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls by 2-1 (7:6, 6:7, 10:6) in 2:10 hours of play.
In the third set, the Australians led by 6:3, after which the British equalized. Four straight games followed for Samantha Stosur and Storm Sanders to close out the match and advance to the trophy match.
In the final, Australia will play the winner of the other semi-final between Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Great Britain, on the other hand, failed to reach its first final in the tournament since 1981.
