Viktorija Golubic and Belinda Bencic win to send Switzerland into Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals at Canada's expense
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Updated 11/11/2022 at 22:52 GMT
Switzerland became the third team to reach the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup after beating Canada 2-1 in a winner-takes-all Group A decider. Viktorija Golubic came from a set behind to beat Bianca Andreescu before Belinda Bencic powered past Leylah Fernandez to set up a tie against the Czech Republic, who defeated the United States 2-1.
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Switzerland booked a place in the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow with a 2-1 triumph in a winner-takes-all clash against Canada.
The 2021 runners-up got off to the perfect start when Viktorija Golubic recovered from losing the opening set to defeat Bianca Andreescu 2-6 6-3 6-4 in the opening singles rubber.
That left Canada’s Leylah Fernandez needing a shock win over world No. 12 Belinda Bencic, but the Olympic champion saw off the threat with a 6-0 7-5 victory.
Fernandez then teamed up with Gabriela Dabrowski in the doubles, and they finished with a flourish by beating Swiss pair Jil Teichmann and Simona Waltert 6-2 6-1, but it was too little too late.
Switzerland, who lost last year’s final to Russia, will face Czech Republic in the semi-finals following their win over United States.
"I feel like I’m moving really well, and I’m just trying to grind and fight for every point," Bencic said.
She added: "I think then you get into the rhythm a little bit, and of course it feels great to be pushed by my team and just to have the heart on the sleeve."
For Canada and Switzerland, the pressure was on after both sides defeated Italy 3-0 to set up a direct shoot-out for top spot in Group A.
With the four group winners from the round-robin stage progressing to the knockout stages, there was no room for error.
Andreescu started the opening singles rubber as the favourite, being ranked 45th in the world, 32 places above Golubic, who was drafted in for Teichmann after she spent more than four hours on court on Wednesday.
The Canadian got off to a fine start, storming to take the opening set 6-2 by overpowering her opponent and finding three breaks in a row from the start.
But Golubic responded magnificently, breaking early in the second set and staying strong on serve to draw level, before taking that confidence into the decider and demonstrating a full showreel of shot-making skills on her way to a memorable victory in two hours, eight minutes.
“It took a lot out of me today, and I think my team gave me so much support," said Golubic.
She added: "They lifted me up so much because I didn’t start that well, and I think without them, it would be an easy two-set loss. But I was able to get the energy from the crowd as well, and it was a great match.”
That left Fernandez needing victory in the second singles clash, but the world No. 40 got off to the worst possible start as she was bagelled in the opening set.
The second set was much closer, as both players were broken in their opening service games before Bencic claimed two crucial breaks late in the set to edge it 7-5.
Bencic hit 19 winners and kept her unforced error count to 17 compared to Fernandez’s 24 on her way to victory in one hour, 29 minutes.
Czech Republic then booked their spot in the semi-finals and will face off against Switzerland after their 2-1 victory against United States.
Marketa Vondrousova put the Czechs one win away from the semi-finals with a terrific display as she defeated Danielle Collins 6-3 6-3 in the opening singles rubber.
Rankings counted little in a one-sided clash as the world No. 99 raced to victory in one hour, 12 minutes against the No. 12-ranked Australian Open runner-up Collins.
Collins broke early in the opening set to go 3-1 up, but Vondrousova responded by winning the next eight games in a row, breaking the American four times to take the first set and race into a 3-0 lead in the second.
It stayed on serve from there as the 23-year-old closed out an impressive victory that left Coco Gauff needing victory against Katerina Siniakova to keep the United States’ semi-final hopes alive.
Gauff, however, fell short, losing in straight sets to Siniakova, who upset the world No. 7 by defeating her 7-6(1) 6-1.
In the first set, both players traded a few breaks before reaching a tie-break and it was Siniakova who proved to be more decisive, winning it 7-1.
Gauff then succumbed to the pressure from her opponent in the second set, committing 19 unforced errors, allowing Siniakova to close out the match.
With Czech Republic already through, the final match saw American duo Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend team up against Karolina Muchova and Karolina Pliskova.
Similar to their Canadian counterparts, the US won the final match-up, defeating the Czechs 6-3 6-3 in straight sets, but it proved to be fruitless, with the Czech Republic confirming their spot in the semis against Switzerland.
Great Britain will face Australia in the other semi-final, following both countries’ victories on Thursday.
The Brits recovered from defeat to Kazakhstan with a remarkable 3-0 win over Spain , when anything less would’ve seen the hosts knocked out.
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