Raducanu fightback seals stunning GB triumph over France in Billie Jean King Cup
EMMA RADUCANU produced another dazzling comeback win to help Great Britain qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in stunning fashion with a 3-1 win over France.
Anne Keothavong’s team were big underdogs ahead of the qualifier on clay in Le Portel and had lost to the same opponents in Coventry last year, but entered day two level at 1-1 after Raducanu’s impressive three-set victory over Caroline Garcia on Friday.
Katie Boulter put her day one disappointment behind her to produce an excellent 7-5, 6-0, win over world No. 44 Clara Burel for a career-best victory on clay.
It opened the door for former US Open champion Raducanu to send Britain through to the Finals this year in Seville, but she was pushed all the way by Diane Parry in a pulsating contest that lasted two hours and 52 minutes.
Parry won the first set, but Raducanu, back in the team for the first time in two years following an injury-hit 2023, fought back to clinch a tremendous 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) victory that not only sends her country through to the November Finals, but serves notice to her rivals ahead of the clay-court season.
“To be able to put two matches like that back-to-back, three sets and on clay against really tough opponents, it’s just a testament to the work we’ve been doing,” Raducanu told the BBC.
“I knew it would pay off eventually, so I’m very pleased that this weekend it was able to show.
“On Thursday before the tie, we said how tough this would be but honestly I had a good feeling about the confidence of our team.
“We have a very strong team and I am really pleased to have been able to score two points, but it helped so much having Boults this morning lead us to go 2-1 up.
“And obviously everyone on the
bench and the support staff, they’ve been working around the clock to keep us fit and get us back on court because we finished pretty late last night. So, it’s a massive shout out. It’s not just me and Boults, it was everyone.”
Raducanu lost a tight first set, which lasted just shy of an hour after Parry broke her in the 10th game much to the delight of a partisan home crowd.
The Grand-Slam winner came out swinging at the start of the second, producing an array of winners to break immediately before she went through a marathon service game with five deuces to hold. A brace of sensational return aces helped Raducanu force a decider, but after she raced into a 40-0 lead on serve, Parry won five points in a row to break.
More brilliant returning by the current world No.302 helped her break back immediately and she appeared in the driving seat when she moved 4-1 up.
Parry, spurred on by a packed crowd, saved two match points in the ninth game to get the decider back on serve and a tie-breaker was required. However, Raducanu produced clutch tennis, sealing an early mini-break with a passing winner and she never looked back.
The win sparked jubilant scenes with Raducanu embraced by coach Keothavong before her team-mates ran on to the clay to celebrate a memorable victory for Britain.
Earlier in the day, Boulter produced an excellent display on clay to outlast Burel.
The British No.1 had won only two games during a crushing defeat to Parry on Friday, but showed all her trademark guts and determination in a hard-fought first set against Burel where she fought back from a break down.
Boulter saved five break points in the seventh game before a doublefault in her next service game handed Burel the decisive break to move 5-4 up. With her back against the wall, Boulter dug deep in several lengthy rallies to break back before she repeated the trick to take a 72-minute opener.
Burel, 23, could not recover her composure and after Boulter stood firm for a crucial hold at the start of the second, a nine-game winning streak helped dish out a bagel to claim a superb victory.
Keothavong added: “Katie and Emma came out and put in some fantastic performances against tough opposition. I am just so chuffed for the team. We knew it would be difficult. We were the underdogs but we performed and we’re all leaving with a big smile on our face.
“I know the girls are all hungry to perform later this year. Yeah, why not [win it]? It’s all to play for.”
I am just so chuffed for the team. We knew it would be difficult. We were the underdogs but we performed and we’re all leaving with a big smile on our face