Emma Raducanu has put Great Britain on the verge of the final in Malaga at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with a continued show of form en route to the opening singles rubber.
Raducanu sealed the win 6-4, 6-4 against Viktoria Hruncakova who had impressed this week despite a lowly ranking of 238. But Raducanu has perhaps been the best player this week continuing her form from qualification earlier in the year.
The Billie Jean King Cup and representing her country seems to bring the best out of her after a damning end to the season which saw her withdraw from many tournaments injured.
But she gave her word that she would play and she has suitably impressed. Now it is Katie Boulter’s turn. The British No.1 has usually finished proceedings off.
She will face Rebecca Sramkova who has barely lost in the latter half of the year and is firmly on the rise but on paper Boulter should book a final with Italy in short order.
Both sets followed the same route as Raducanu had to fend off three break points on her own opening service game before she opened up a 5-1 lead with a second break. But she had trouble finishing it off.
She spurned a set point when broken back but eventually converted her third. Raducanu earned a double break at 5-2 in the second only to be broken back when serving for it but the 22-year-old eventually closed it out to put Great Britain one away from a first appearance in the final for 43 years.
"Every match is extremely challenging, and I think as the tournament progresses it's even more so," Raducanu said in her on-court interview.
"Today was a really tough battle because my opponent has a huge ball strike and, despite her ranking, she plays much above that.
On a roll 🔥@EmmaRaducanu gives Great Britain the advantage in the #BJKCup semi-finals 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/UjqTiBaAAt
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 19, 2024
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