Canada reached the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in 35 years after they beat Poland 3-0 at the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville, Spain on Thursday, 9 November 2023.
Teenager Marina Stakusic picked up where she left off, as she got a 6-4; 7-5; 6-3 win over Magdalena Fręch. This victory has now becomes Stakusic’s career-best win, surpassing the result she got against Spaniard, Rebekah Masarova on Wednesday.
Laylah Fernandez also followed suit as she secured another point for Canada beating Magda Linette 6-2; 6-3 and also securing her 12th win in her last 13 matches at the tournament.
Fernandez says it’s clear to see how Canada are improving on the tennis court. “It means the world to me and it means the world to us all,” Fernandez told billiejeankingcup.com. “I’m extremely proud to be representing Canada on court.”
“To be in the semi-finals at the women’s World Cup of Tennis, it means that Canada is going up in tennis and that we are producing a lot of great tennis players.”
Team Canada’s Laylah Fernandez
“It also means that we, every single year, keep improving, learn from our mistakes and keep wanting the best. We just want what the men were able to do when they won Davis Cup. For us to win Billie Jean King Cup would be a dream.”
Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowksi sealed the big win for Canada when the pair joined forces to down Weronika Falkowska and Katarzyna Kawa 6-2; 6-3 in the doubles match.
Canada will face either the USA or Czech Republic in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Australia Make Amends against Kazakhstan
Meanwhile, Alicia Molik’s Australia got back to winning ways. Their star player, Storm Hunter, got the first win for her team after she sealed a 7-6; 6-4 win over Kazakhstan’s Anna Dalinina.
But Yulia Putintseva levelled the scores for Kazakhstan getting the better of Kimberly Birrell 6-0; 7-5.
Hunter returned to the court for the doubles match where she and Ellen Perez beat Putintseva and Danilina 6-1 4-6 [10-5].
This was Molik’s last hurrah with Australia, and says it was a remarkable journey. “I feel really content moving on, because there is a next stage for me, but I have given it everything I feel that I possibly could have”, said the captain on billiejeankingcup.com.
Italy Scores 3-0 Whitewashes Over Germany, USA Does the Same for Switzerland
In other results, Italy breezed past Germany getting a 3-0 win on Thursday.
Martina Trevisan was made to work for her 7-6; 6-1 victory against Eva Lys, Jasmine Paolini easily got past Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-3; 6-1.
Doubles pair Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Lucia Bronzetti managed a 6-4 6-7 (11-9) win against Friedsam and Laura Siegemund.
Meanwhile, the USA put in a dominant performance against Switzerland as Danielle Collins beat Celine Naef 7-6(4); 6-1, while Sofia Kenin got past Viktorija Golubic 6-3 6-7(1) 7-5.
Sloane Stephens and Taylor Townsend bagged the win in the doubles game beating Jil Teichmann and Simona Waltert 6-1 7-6(3).
Photo caption: Laylah Fernandez adding a point for Canada, beating Magda Linette 6-2; 6-3 and also securing her 12th win in her last thirteen matches at the tournament. With the results of Fernandez’s teammates Marina Stakusic and the doubles pairing of Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowksi, Canada has reached the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in 35 years, at the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville, Spain on Thursday, 9 November 2023. Photo: Team Canada on X
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