Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter have combined once again to lead Great Britain to the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup at the expense of defending champions Canada.
British number two Raducanu, playing for only the second time in almost two months following a foot injury, opened the quarter-finals with a 6-0 7-5 victory over Canadian Rebecca Marino.
Raducanu’s success allowed British number one Boulter to seal her country’s place in the last four of the women’s team event.
Boulter got the job done by beating Leylah Fernandez, who Raducanu beat in her shock triumph at the 2021 US Open, in a 6-2 6-4 victory later on Sunday.
Great Britain will now advance to the semi-final against Slovakia, who beat 2022 finalists Australia on Tuesday (1100 GMT).
Anne Keothavong’s team entered the 12-nation final as the second-lowest ranked nation.
But, with Raducanu and Boulter yet to lose a set in Malaga, belief continues to grow that Britain can win the event now known as the ‘Tennis World Cup’ for the first time. .
How Singles stars are showing Britain the way
In Boulter and Raducanu, Great Britain has a pedigree that ranks among the strongest in the competition.
British number one Boulter, who entered the world top 25 after a season in which she won two WTA titles, was the third highest-ranked singles player in the quarter-finals.
Former Grand Slam champion Raducanu also ranked third among the number two players.
So even though defending champions Canada are second in the world, there was no reason for Great Britain to have an inferiority complex heading into the best-of-three match.
The presence of Gaby Dabrowski – world number three in doubles and recent WTA Finals champion – meant, however, that a deciding doubles was not where Britain would have particularly enjoyed going.
Therefore, it seemed imperative that Raducanu opened with a victory.
The first set, with a huge gulf in quality between her and Marino, 103rd, required cruelty.
The second required patience and resilience. Raducanu was forced to save seven break points before taking Marino’s serve in the 11th game.
“It was an incredibly difficult match because the dynamics were very different in each of the sets,” Raducanu said.
Raducanu, who has now won his last four singles matches for Great Britain, laid the foundation for Boulter to seal the deal against 31st-ranked Fernandez.
Playing on a hard, fast court that suits her excoriating style, Boulter ran away with the first set when Fernandez’s service game disintegrated with a flurry of double faults.
Boulter’s confidence, built during the finest season of her career and maintained in a team environment in which she thrives, continued into the second set.
Taking a 4-0 lead brought her to the brink of victory before the nerves showed.
Boulter failed to secure victory at the first ask, hitting a long forehand on a match point on Fernandez’s serve at 3-5, then double faulting on his second match point.
But, thanks to the vocal support of the British who tried to rally her, she managed to cross the finish line on the fourth attempt, sparking jubilant celebrations among the Union Jack-clad contingent.
