Raducanu propels Team GB into the BJK Cup Finals
Emma Raducanu yesterday 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 number 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 later 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 (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-toback, three sets and on clay against really tough opponents, it’s just a testament to the work we’ve been doing,” Raducanu said.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in today’s final of Monte Carlo Masters after a 6-5 1-6 6-4 win against Novak Djokovic.
The Norwegian won a nailbiting deciding set against the world No. 1, who doublefaulted on Ruud’s match point to confirm the result.
World No. 10 Ruud will take on Tsitsipas, who beat Jannik Sinner 6-4 3-6 6-4 earlier in the day in Monaco.
It was just the second defeat of the year for Sinner.
Ruud cruised to victory in the opening set, ensuring Djokovic dropped his first set of the tournament.
The Serbian, 36, fought back well in the second set, dropping just one game to take the match to a decider.
The third set swung back and forth but having got himself back into the game on serve at 4-5, Djokovic double-faulted on Ruud’s match point to hand the Norwegian victory.
Tsitsipas, a two-time winner in Monte Carlo, booked his spot in Monaco after two hours 48 minutes of play.
The match swung in the deciding set when Sinner, who was on the brink of a double break at 3-1, saw an incorrect call go against him.
The line judge failed to call Tsitsipas’ shot as out and Sinner failed to stop in order to review the call, which would have put him 4-1 up.
The Italian failed to recover psychologically, and Tsitsipas won four games on the trot from 2-4 down to seal his win.
Where were you when Sandy Lyle did his jig of delight after holing his final 10-foot putt to win the 1988 Masters?
I was in my top-floor flat in Glasgow, punching the air in celebration.
Some of you may not even have born when one of the greatest moments in Scottish sport occurred.
Lyle, who is now 66 and retired from the game, was joined in that year’s Masters field by his fellow Scotsman Ken Brown who tied for 36th place.
Two Scots in the Masters – one of them winning – was something to be proud of, especially when you consider that for the first time since 1984 there is not a single Scot in this year’s field.
The home of golf has no divine right to always have someone at Augusta but not to have any representation for the first time in 40 years is an embarrassment.
It can’t be put down as just a blip because last year Scotland’s only representative was Lyle, who only got in as a past champion.
Through the years we have had the likes of Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, Stephen Gallacher, Martin Laird and Bob Macintyre taking part.
The best we have this year are two Hearts-supporting Scottish caddies. Stuart Davidson is on the bag for Australian Min Woo Lee with Stuart Beck carrying the clubs for Poland’s Adrian Meronck.
Macintyre, who played at Augusta two years ago, is Scotland’s best hope of making an impact on the world stage and hopefully this time next year he’ll be back trying to work out how to best play Amen Corner.
When he made his Masters debut in 2021 he finished a creditable 12th after finishing at two-under par in the event won by Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
The following year the man from Oban finished on three-over-par and tied for 23rd. He didn’t make it last year and as he is now ranked 80th in the world he never came close to qualifying for the current competition.
The next generation of Scottish golfers need all the help they can get and with that in mind Paul Lawrie and Stephen Gallacher, through their respective foundations, are doing great work in helping up and coming stars.
Scottish Golf are doing their best to allow youngsters to get the best possible start and help them fall in love with the game before the cream of the crop inevitably head to the college circuit in the US where only the strong survive.
There is young talent in the pipeline with Cameron Mukherjee of Loretto School, who is still under 16 and plays out of Gullane, performing well in the Scottish Boys (Under-18) Open Championship that ended at Irvine Golf Club on Friday evening. He finished fourth in the tournament, four behind the winner Louka Morin of France.
It’s been disheartening not having Scottish representation to watch in action over the last few days at Augusta but things can only get better in the rest of the Majors.
Next up is May’s US PGA at Valhalla, the US Open at Pinehurst in June then The Open at Royal Troon in July. Let’s hope a few Scots play and even better, mount a challenge.
‘ Hopefully Bob will be back at Augusta this time next year