Britain get off to a flying start as they seek to secure a play-off place for World Group II

Great Britain got off to a perfect start on the opening day of their Fed Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group I campaign with a 3-0 win over Portugal in Estonia.

Under new captain Anne Keothavong, the British squad is aiming to come through a roundrobin phase which will also see ties against Latvia and Turkey in a bid to reach a play-off for a place in the World Group II.

Heather Watson, the British No.2, breezed through Wednesday’s opening rubber against Ines Murta, whose singles ranking is 546, to complete a 6-1 6-1 victory in under an hour.

Johanna Konta, world No 10, then saw off Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-2 6-4 which gave Great Britain, seeded third of the 14 nations competing in Tallinn, an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Laura Robson teamed up with 25-year-old Scot Jocelyn Rae (both pictured) against Larcher de Brito and Murta for the final doubles rubber, which Britain came through 6-2 6-3.

Britain will next play Latvia on Thursday, coming up against world No 35 Jelena Ostapenko, before finishing the scheduled Pool C matches against Turkey on Friday.

“It was brilliant,” Keothavong said afterwards in an interview on the British Tennis Twitter account.

“Jo again was ever the professional. It was a cracking start from her, but Larcher de Brito raised her level at the start of the second set, so it was a good fight.

“Laura and Joc teamed up for a fantastic doubles. I know they have not played too much together, but watching them play there, you would never have thought that. They took charge and did what they had to do.”

Keothavong, though, knows the British squad face more challenges ahead at the indoor Talinnk Centre.

“It is only going to get more difficult for us now. All of the girls played well and we will need more from them over the next few days,” said Keothavong, who took over as Fed Cup captain from Judy Murray.

Following her victory in Wednesday’s opening rubber, Watson, the world No.72, praised Keothavong’s leadership as Britain look to return to the competition’s top tier for the first time since 1993.

“She was great. She’ll continue to do a great job and I’m really enjoying the trip with her,” Watson said.

Konta, who reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, also believes the group is bonding well.

“I think Anne is doing a tremendous job at bringing us together as a team,” the British No.1 said.

“It is always tricky because we spend most of the year travelling, so for her to be able to do such a good job with us says a lot about her.”