Billie Jean King Cup: Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter both win to send Great Britain to November's finals
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Updated 13/04/2024 at 19:39 GMT
Katie Boulter held her nerve to overcome France's Clara Burel to ensure that Great Britain were able to strike first on day two of the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, before Emma Raducanu found her best to beat Diane Parry in three sets to send Great Britain through to November's finals in Seville with an unassailable 3-1 lead in the tie in France.
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Emma Raducanu defeated Diane Parry 4-6 6-1 7-6(1) in three incredible sets to book Great Britain’s place in the Billie Jean King finals in November, after Katie Boulter had beaten Clara Burel in straight sets earlier in the day.
The two results gave Great Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the tie, ensuring the doubles match was not required.
Boulter had bounced back from her defeat against Parry to beat Burel 7-5 6-0, giving Raducanu the platform to secure the tie.
The former US Open champion was up against a tough clay-court player in Parry, who had the home crowd on her side - and it took everything Raducanu had to secure the victory, with the tennis at times simply sublime.
Parry took a tight opening set that featured three breaks of serve, the home player coming out strongly as she tried to reignite France’s chances following Boulter’s victory. She took it 6-4, with the two equally matched in both the winners and errors count.
Raducanu was not going down without a fight, as she broke Parry in the opening game of the second set. The quality had not dipped one bit, both players finding delicious angles as they seemed content to slug it out from the back of the court.
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: Emma Raducanu of Great Britain plays a forehand against Diane Parry of France during the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier match between France and Great Britain at Le Chaudron on April 13, 2024 in Le Portel,
Image credit: Getty Images
Raducanu had to come from behind to beat Caroline Garcia on Friday, and it looked like she was up for a similar sort of battle as she broke again in the second set to take it 6-1, one screamer of a forehand return late on certainly indicating that she was back to something approaching her best.
The decider was a hard-fought affair, Raducanu serving for it at 5-3 and having a match point against the Frenchwoman, but Parry refusing to yield as she forced some errors from her opponent. She managed to break Raducanu's serve, with the decider then going all the way to a tie-break.
The tie-break did not last long, Raducanu serving up the best tennis she had all match, and looking like player back to her best - both mentally and physically.
Some huge, nerveless hitting and big first serves from Raducanu took her to a comprehensive 4-6 6-1 7-6(1) victory, not just ensuring Great Britain would be present at the Billie Jean Cup finals in Seville in November, but reminding the tennis world of her quality as a player as she continues her comeback from that lengthy injury layoff last year.
"A lot of love for the crowd for supporting us, I’m very pleased to have scored two points especially on clay against such a tough team," a clearly jubilant Raducanu said. " A set down, my back was up against the wall and I didn't want to go into the doubles as they have a superb doubles team."
She added: "I'm super pleased and happy for Katie how she bounced back after yesterday. Today is when it really mattered."
Earlier, Boulter had held her nerve to overcome Burel to atone for her defeat in her opening singles match.
Boutler had lost the previous day 6-2 6-0 to Parry as she struggled on Le Chaudron’s indoor clay court, but came back to win 7-5 6-0 against Burel.
Boulter took the first set over Burel, coming from 5-4 down to win 7-5. It was a nail-biting first set in which the Brit looked completely dejected at one point and Burel in control for lengthy moments.
In the second set Boulter raced out to a 3-0 lead over the 23-year-old from Rennes, with the Brit showing a clear difference in quality for the first time.
Burel, who was so close to clinching the opening set, had clearly been affected by Boulter's surge in the first set, and conceded another two games for Boulter to take a 5-0 lead.
After the chastening defeat to Parry on Friday, Boulter looked like a completely different player, staying calm and winning the second set 6-0 in a performance full of grit and character.
"Obviously we've got two rubbers. I wanted to give them the best chance that I possibly could after yesterday. I feel like they've just got a free swing here, we've got absolutely nothing to lose," Boulter said after her match.
"I still feel like we're the underdogs in this kind of match, France at home is one you look at the draw sheet and you don't really want to play. But it's a really crucial point that I wanted to get on the board and I'm very happy with myself that I did."
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