Kenin & Collins Push US To Opening Win At Billie Jean King Cup Finals

| by Evita Mueller

Sofia Kenin and Danielle Collins won the singles matches for the United States against Switzerland to secure the win in the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

Team US started off the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with a win beating Switzerland easily. The first match of the day featured Danielle Collins playing against Celine Naef, and it was a pretty expected win for the American.

The first set was really close as she needed a tie-break, but she established control easily in the second, finishing it off, 6-1. The second match featured Sofia Kenin against Viktorija Golubic.

Unlike last year, when Belinda Bencic powered her country, the Swiss team is missing some firepower this year. Bencic is in Seville, but she's pregnant and not playing.

Golubic tried her best and held her own well against Kenin for a while, but the American quickly took control of the match. Neither player was particularly precise from the baseline but that's been a trend at the event so far.

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Both had far more control than Naef and Collins, who combined for many unforced errors. While Kenin seemed on the verge of escaping in two, Golubic mounted a spectacular comeback to fight back from a break down and force a tie-break.

She actually saved two match points in that endeavor, and it proved vital as she would win the tiebreak to send the match into a third set. In the 3rd set, it was mostly both players dominating on the serve.

Neither player was able to create any kind of breakthrough as we cruised towards a really nerve-wracking conclusion. Kenin saved a match point herself at 4-5 in the final set but then broke her opponent's serve to take a 6-5 lead.

She would conclude the match with a solid service game to secure the crucial second point for the US. The match lasted almost three hours before Kenin finished it off.

The final score was 6-3 6-7(3) 7-5 for the American, who finished with 45 winners and 57 unforced errors and with a second win of her country, secured their opening victory at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

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