Raducanu, Boulter send Great Britain into Billie Jean King Cup semifinals

Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter posted straight-sets wins over defending champion Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on Sunday, sending Great Britain into the semifinals of the prestigious team event in Malaga, Spain.

Raducanu gave the Brits a 1-0 lead in their quarterfinal tie, holding off Rebecca Marino 6-0, 7-5 in 89 minutes.

“It was an incredibly difficult match because the dynamics were so different in each of the sets,” 2021 US Open champion Raducanu said on court after her win. “In the second set, Rebecca really upped her level.”

Boulter then followed with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Leylah Fernandez, clinching her squad’s spot in the semifinals with an insurmountable 2-0 advantage. Boulter took 1 hour and 41 minutes to topple Fernandez, who was the US Open runner-up to Raducanu in 2021.

“I just want to say, firstly, Emma makes it very easy to come out here and have a swing at 1-0 up, so full credit to her for starting us off well,” Boulter said after her win. “Really proud of my performance today. I just wanted to come out here and really go at the defending champs, and hopefully get a big win.” 

Great Britain will now take on 2002 champions Slovakia in the Final Four. The Slovaks posted a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Australia earlier on Sunday.

Great Britain is a four-time Billie Jean King Cup finalist, but they are still searching for their first title at the prestigious team event. Victory over Slovakia would put them into the final for the first time since 1981.

Raducanu was unstoppable in her opening set on Sunday, where she won all 12 of her first-service points. She claimed the one-set lead in less than half an hour.

But big-serving 33-year-old Marino, who just won her biggest career title at the WTA 125 event in Midland, Michigan, made a strong charge in the second set and held four break points for a 5-3 lead.

Raducanu, though, served her way out of danger in that crucial 12-minute game, keeping herself level at 4-4. The 22-year-old was rewarded for her grit at 5-5, where she used incredible defense and a passing winner to erase a game point, then broke serve with a powerful return.

Serving for the 1-0 advantage, Raducanu romped to triple match point. She double faulted on the first, and Marino cranked a winning forehand on the second, but the third time was the charm when Marino sent a crosscourt backhand just wide.

“I’m very pleased with how I managed to fend off my own break points, and then sneak that break at 5-5 and close it out,” Raducanu said.

Boulter had a similar path to victory. The 28-year-old broke Fernandez five consecutive times en route to a dominant 6-2, 4-0 lead, as Boulter seized big-hitting opportunities on return while the Canadian struggled with double faults.

Like Marino, Fernandez pulled things closer down the stretch. Boulter did well to fend off three break points in a critical hold for 4-0 in the second set, but Fernandez found solid returns and rallies to break the Brit when she served for the match at 5-2.

Boulter grabbed her first match point on the Fernandez serve at 5-3, but misfired on a return. Two more match points came and went at 5-4, but the Boulter serve got her over the line in the last couple points to close out her big win for Team GB.

“We’ve been building for some time now, and I feel like it’s finally coming out,” Boulter said after her nation moved into the semis. “I feel like we’ve got a great team, all the girls are great people and we’ve got great chemistry going on. So proud of everyone here.”