It has been seven months since Emma Raducanu led Great Britain to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. So much has happened since then, from a gradual rise back up the rankings to further frustrating injuries, and she arrived in Malaga this week at a different point in her development. As she stepped up to the baseline on Friday evening, it was unclear how her form would hold under pressure after a two-month absence.
Two hours later, Raducanu departed the court having taken the pressure in her stride, setting the tone for her team with a solid, professional opening performance as Great Britain advanced to the quarter-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup with a 2-0 win over Germany.
After Raducanu held her nerve in a tense climax to close out a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jule Niemeier, the British No 1 Katie Boulter continued her excellent recent run of form by clinching the tie with a spectacular performance, demolishing Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-2. The Great Britain team will face Canada, the defending champions, in the quarter-final on Sunday.
From the beginning of the tie, the large British expat community on these shores made its presence felt in the 3,564 capacity temporary stadium, offering forceful support to the British team as the stadium quickly swelled to over three quarters full. They came with their trumpets, tambourines and urged Raducanu on as she found her feet against Niemeier, a big server ranked No 92 who reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2022.
Although Niemeier’s serve led her through, Raducanu was dominant in the rallies, striking the ball with depth and penetration as she forced Niemeier to work hard for almost every point. As soon as the German’s first serve percentage began to drop on key points, Raducanu pounced to snatch the opening set.
Despite losing her serving rhythm in the final moments, Raducanu’s serve was a notable asset throughout. She finished with 10 aces and her average first and second serve speeds scaled 104mph and 93mph respectively, significantly higher than her usual averages.
With the first set under her belt, Raducanu’s confidence grew as Niemeier’s crumbled. However, as she served for the match at 5-2, Raducanu balked. She soon found herself at 5-4, having squandered four match points, before finally holding her nerve closing out a strong win.
“Physically, I felt quite good, especially as I haven’t played a match for so long,” said Raducanu. “It was a good test for me and I think I came through. I’m very happy with how I held my nerve. I’ve obviously been working a little bit in practice on my serve. It was very good in patches but still had room for improvement. Looking forward to seeing the areas I can take from this match and work on in my pre-season ready for next year.”
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Now the team leader, Boulter arrived in Malaga after a bruising seven-week swing in Asia, where she had to work through a difficult run of form before rediscovering her top level in the final two weeks of the trip. She continued to radiate confidence on Friday. After dropping her serve in the opening game, Boulter completely overpowered Siegemund, who is ranked No 84, as she marched to a comprehensive victory in just 70 minutes.
“I’m really happy with the way I played,” said Boulter. “I kept my focus. Honestly, it’s hard to stay focused the whole time in those matches, and obviously I’m supposed to win that on paper, but you never know what’s going to happen. So I never take that for granted. You’ve got to try and win every single point and stay on top as much as possible and not really give her an inch, because those kinds of players can come back if you drop your level for a game or two.”
Both Raducanu and Boulter continue to show that they thrive under pressure in team competitions. Raducanu is now 4-1 in the Billie Jean King Cup having won each of her past four matches after losing her debut in 2022. Boulter, meanwhile, has compiled an excellent 13-4 record overall since 2018. “Even though there is some pressure to score a point for your team, you’re not just playing for yourself; you’re playing for everyone,” said Raducanu.
Source: theguardian.com
