Billie Jean King Cup: Andreescu and Fernandez give Canada victory over Italy

Glasgow, UK – Canada kicked off the Billie Jean King King Cup Finals on the right foot on Thursday morning. He swept Italy 3-0 in the group stage of the women’s team tennis competition.

Bianca Andreescu first beat Elisabetta Cocciareto 7-6 (3), 6-3 after 1 hour 51 minutes at Emirates Arena Cement in Glasgow, then crushed compatriot Leila Anne Fernandez Martina Trevisan 6-0 6-0 in 44. Short minutes.

It was the first professional match between Andreescu, 45 in the world, and Cuchiarito, 65.

Ontarian, the 2019 US Open champion, managed to limit errors during her duel; I only made one double foul, compared to Coccarito’s three. In addition, Andreescu converted four of his eight break points, conceding her serve three times on four occasions.

However, it was Andreescu’s return, having faced a 2-5 late point in the first set, which proved to be a turning point in the encounter.

“I like pulling from the back, because it forces me to raise my level of play. There’s a kind of clicking going on in my head and I’m suddenly more aggressive. So, yeah, it was good,” she admitted in a video conference after the match.

Andreescu also gave credit to her rival, Cocciaretto, who had played a match that lasted more than three hours the day before against Switzerland’s Gilles Teichmann, losing 6-3 4-6 7-6 (5).

“In the first set, it didn’t look flat at all. It didn’t look like she had played a game for three hours the night before. However, at the end of the game, when I asked for a therapist to intervene, I knew I had to stay there and focus on my game plan,” she explained.

For his part, Fernandez, who is ranked 40 in the world, did not worry about rival Trevisan, even though he is ranked 28.

Sure, the 20-year-old Quebec made two double-faults, but she didn’t concede a single breaking point to the Italian. Lavalloise, a finalist at the 2021 US Open, was an opportunist, as evidenced by her six breaks in seven chances. Fernandez also made only eight valid fouls, compared to 26 for his opponent.

Then, at the end of the day, Ontarians Gabriella Dabrowski and Fernandez capped Dream Day by defeating Italians Lucia Bronzetti and Jasmine Boloni 6-1, 6-1 in 46 minutes.

The Maple Leaf representatives, led by Captain Sylvain Bruno, will have a rendezvous with Switzerland on Friday. Switzerland also beat Italy 3-0 on Wednesday.

“It will be a very difficult duel. In fact, I do not think there is a single weak team here in this competition. I only hope to play with my full potential and be able to win,” concluded Andreescu.

Great Britain and Australia validate their tickets to the semi-finals

Great Britain and Australia will meet in the semi-finals after dominating Spain (3-0) in Group C and Belgium (3-0) in Group B respectively in Glasgow.

The British team, which they defeated on Tuesday against Kazakhstan, achieved a great achievement against Spain, led by the 13th player in the world Paula Padusa, and joined the top four thanks to the number of matches won (4 vs 3 for the Spaniards and 2 for the Kazakhs). .

Heather Watson (115) fired her perfect run against Nuria Barezas, before Harriet Dart (98) was able to put in an excellent performance against Padusa (6-4, 6-3). Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nichols won the double qualifiers.

In Group B, the Australians confirmed after their opening win against Slovakia, this time ahead of the Belgians, thanks to stunning Storm Sanders (237), who was taken by surprise by Alison van Uytvanck (54th place) 6-2, 6-2.

“I’m proud of myself. When +Mol + (Alicia Molik, editor’s note) told me I was going to play singles again, I said to myself + OK, let’s go again +. I played well under pressure. It was a very tough match. Sanders commented after his victory” Playing for your country is a very emotional thing.”

And Agla Tomljanovic gave Australia the second decisive point by taking advantage of the abandonment of Elise Mertens (29), who had injured a shoulder, while the 33rd in the world advanced 3-0 in the last set.

After being defeated in the Fed Cup Final, the former name of the BJK Cup, in 2019 by France, seven-time winners have not won this competition since 1974.

In Group D, the Czech Republic offered themselves the right to play a crucial match against the United States on Friday, thanks to their success against Poland (2-1), who were effectively eliminated.

Katerina Sinyakova and Marketa Vondrosova awarded the decisive point in the doubles without feeling any pain against Katarzyna Kawa and Magda Linate (6-2, 6-3).

Results from day three of the Billie Jean King Cup, Thursday in Glasgow

Group A

Canada beat Italy 3-0

Singles:

Bianca Andreescu (Canada) beat Elisabetta Cocciareto (Italy) 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Leila Fernandez (Canada) defeats Martina Trevisan (Italy) 6-0, 6-0

Double:

Gabriella Dabrowski / Lila Fernandez (Canada) beat Yasmine Paolini / Lucia Bronzetti (Italy) 6-1, 6-1.

group b

Australia beat Belgium 3-0

Singles:

Storm Sanders (Australia) beat Alison van Uytvanck (Belgium) 6-2, 6-2

– Agla Tomljanovic (Australia) defeats Elise Mertens (Belgium) 4-6, 6-4, 3-0 (AB).

Double:

Storm Sanders / Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat Jessalene Bonaventura / Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) 6-4, 6-3.

Group C Great Britain beat Spain 3-0

Singles:

Heather Watson (Great Britain) defeated Nuria Barezas Diaz (Spain) 6-0, 6-2

Harriet Dart (Great Britain) defeats Paula Padusa (Spain) 6-3, 6-4

Double:

Alicia Barnett / Olivia Nichols (Great Britain) beat Alyona Bolsova Zadanov / Rebecca Masarova (Spain) 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.

Group D: Czech Republic beat Poland 2-1

Singles:

Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic) defeats Magdalena Fritsch (Poland) 6-2, 6-2

Magda Linate (Poland) defeats Karolina Pliskova (Czechoslovakia) 6-4, 6-1

Double

Katerina Sinyakova / Marketa Vondrosova (Czechoslovakia) defeated Katarzyna Kawa / Magda Linate (Poland) 6-2, 6-3.