Raducanu Records Another Easy Win At BJKC To Close Up On Historic Final

Emma Raducanu recorded yet another straight-sets win at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup to get her country closer to a historic final.

Despite being one of the teams with the longest history at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, Great Britain never triumphed in the competition. They reached the final on four occasions, in 1967, 1971, 1972, and 1981.

It's been 43 years since their last final appearance, which was a 0-3 loss to the United States. This time, the United States is not in the competition anymore since Slovakia sensationally eliminated them in the opening round of the tournament.

And it was Slovakia that eliminated Australia as well, setting up the semi-final clash with Great Britain. With Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter leading the team, the Brits were huge favorites, and the 2021 US Open winner confirmed that in the first match of the tie.

She took on Viktoria Hruncakova, who played in her country's doubles match against the United States with Terezia Mihalikova, which the Slovak team won, and Hruncakova also outplayed Kimberly Birrell in a singles match in the quarter-finals, winning 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-3.

However, Raducanu's record at the event has been even more impressive, as she bested Jule Niemeier 6-4, 6-4, and then she also outplayed Rebecca Marino 6-0, 7-5.

Hruncakova was the lowest-ranked opponent that she had to face so far, even though the Slovak player has a career-high ranking of No. 43 in the world, which is higher than Niemeier's and only five places lower than Marino's.

Still, the difference in the level was palpable from the first rally. Raducanu broke already in the opening game of the match, and despite facing three break points in the next game, she easily saved all, also thanks to some precise serves.

The British player then went on a streak of 12 consecutive points won, increasing her lead from one break to two breaks. After six games played, she led already 5-1 and it looked like a first-set win was imminent.

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But the Slovak player refused to give up. Hruncakova saved a set point in the eighth game of the first set, and she even managed to recover one of the breaks. Unfortunately for the Slovak player, she wasn't able to recover also the second break, losing the first set 4-6.

After winning the first set, Raducanu was flying in the second, as she outplayed her opponent from the baseline. She made Hruncakova run and gained a lot of ground by her opponent being late to a lot of shots.

Thanks to that, Raducanu was able to break twice again, leading 5-2 and serving for the match. Once again, she felt the pressure and couldn't serve out the set, losing one of her breaks.

But since she was so overwhelming at the start of the set, Raducanu still had one more break, and that was enough for her to close out the match, winning 6-4, 6-4 to secure her country's first point against Slovakia.

Up next, Katie Boulter will take on Rebecca Sramkova. Both players won both of their matches at the event so far, and if the British player wins, they will move to the final of the competition for the first time in 43 years. On the other hand, if the Slovak wins, a doubles match will decide the tie.

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