Historic Tennis Final
Ukraine defeats defending champion Italy to reach its first Billie Jean King Cup final.
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Defending champion Italy beat host China 2-1 in the Billie Jean King Cup quarterfinals, with Jasmine Paolini winning her singles match and teaming with Sara Errani to take the deciding doubles. Italy then lost 2-0 to Ukraine in the semifinals, as Anhelina Kalinina put Ukraine ahead and Elina Svitolina beat Paolini 6-2, 6-2 to seal the tie. Ukraine reached the final for the first time after also defeating Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinals. It will face Czechia, which beat Spain in the semifinals, in Sunday’s final.
Key Points
1
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina said reaching the final was especially meaningful while people in Ukraine are facing “difficult times back home.” She also described the semifinal as redemption after losing to Paolini at the same stage the previous year.
2
China took the opening point when Zhang Shuai beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-0, 6-2. Zhang, 37, said she could handle the pressure, while Paolini’s comeback win over Zheng Qinwen was her first victory in four meetings with the Olympic champion.
3
China’s Zheng Qinwen said she had been sick and in pain before the competition and took painkillers to play, adding that she did not perform her best against Paolini.
4
The Italy-China deciding doubles match ran until just before 1 a.m.; Paolini and Errani had to recover from fatigue and nerves to win. Paolini said the tie against the home team was “maybe even tougher” than the previous year’s encounter.
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Czechia’s team includes Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova and top-ranked doubles player Katerina Siniakova. Czechia has won 11 titles in the competition, second only to the United States’ 18.
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