Raducanu puts GB one win from BJK Cup semi-finals

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Emma Raducanu enactment the archetypal constituent connected the committee for Great Britain successful their pursuit of a Billie Jean King Cup semi-final spot astatine the disbursal of defending champions Canada.

British fig 2 Raducanu, playing for lone the 2nd clip successful astir 2 months pursuing a ft injury, won 6-0 7-5 against Canada's Rebecca Marino successful Malaga.

The archetypal set, with a immense gulf of prime betwixt the 2021 US Open champion and 103rd-ranked Marino, required ruthlessness, but the 2nd asked for patience and resilience.

Raducanu was forced to prevention 7 interruption points earlier taking Marino's service successful the 11th game.

"It was an incredibly hard lucifer due to the fact that the dynamics successful the sets were truthful different," said Raducanu.

Raducanu's triumph means British fig 1 Katie Boulter has the accidental to seal her nation's spot successful the past 4 of the women's squad lawsuit known arsenic the 'World Cup of Tennis'.

Boulter, ranked 24th successful the world, faces Leylah Fernandez - who Raducanu bushed to triumph her daze Grand Slam rubric - aboriginal connected Sunday.

If Boulter wins, Anne Keothavong's broadside volition advancement astatine the earliest accidental successful the three-match tie.

The prize astatine involvement for Britain oregon Canada is simply a semi-final against Slovakia, who bushed past year's runners-up Australia, connected Tuesday (11:00 GMT).

While reigning champions Canada fertile 2nd successful the world, determination is nary crushed for Britain to person an inferiority complex.

Raducanu and Boulter person a higher ranking than their singles opponents, though the beingness of Gaby Dabrowski - the doubles satellite fig 3 and caller WTA Finals champion - means a deciding doubles is not wherever Britain would relish going.

Therefore, it felt imperative that Raducanu opened the necktie with a triumph and gave an accidental to Boulter to seal the woody against 31st-ranked Fernandez.

Canada's squad enactment was not clearcut and their skipper Heidi El Tabakh decided to spell with the acquisition of Marino implicit the imaginable of teen Marina Stakusic.

Marino plays the bulk of her tennis connected the second-tier WTA Challenger Tour but is caller from lifting a 125k rubric successful the United States.

The determination yet backfired.

Marino, struggling to onshore her formidable archetypal serve, came nether unit consecutive distant arsenic a assured Raducanu dominated with her returning game.

That occurrence was reinforced by comfy holds with a recently tweaked service which has added power.

After converting her 3rd interruption constituent successful the opening game, Raducanu went connected to instrumentality 2 of the 5 much she created successful a one-sided archetypal acceptable lasting conscionable 28 minutes.

When Marino slumped into her seat earlier the 2nd set, you wondered however overmuch longer the lucifer would last.

However, she deserves recognition for rediscovering her crippled successful the 2nd acceptable and valiantly dragging Raducanu into a battle.

Raducanu saved 7 interruption points crossed the 4th and 8 games, uncovering archetypal serves erstwhile she needed them successful the astir perilous moments, past striking clinically to unafraid different encouraging victory.

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