Ukraine reach BJK Cup semi-finals for first time / Photo: © AFP
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Ukraine reach BJK Cup semi-finals for first time
Ukraine reached the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time with gritty performances from Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk against Spain on Wednesday in Shenzhen.
Svitolina defeated Paula Badosa 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 to wrap up the quarter-final tie for Ukraine in the women's team competition.
Kostyuk beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 earlier in the day.
The Ukrainians will now take on defending champions Italy on Friday.
"I had to really dig deep for this win," said Svitolina, the world number 13.
"I’m super-pleased with the team performance, not only my performance today, because you know it takes a lot of people.
"All the guys here in the tracksuits of Ukraine, and the crowd as well made it really special for us today.
"It was a really important point, not only for our team but also for our country for the first time to be in the semi-finals."
The Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre holds good memories for Svitolina, who reached the championship match of the prestigious WTA Finals when they were held there in 2019.
Badosa was playing her first match since Wimbledon, having been sidelined with a back injury for the past two and a half months.
Svitolina and Badosa are two of the biggest fighters of the game and their two-hour eight-minute battle was testament to that.
Badosa let a break advantage slip away and saved a set point while serving at 4-5 before she grabbed the opening set after 52 minutes.
Svitolina swiftly responded, sailing ahead 3-0 in the second frame to level the match.
She looked in control of the decider when she leapt to a 4-1 advantage but Badosa pegged her back and was soon on level terms.
The Spanish former world number two had an opportunity to break at 5-5 but Svitolina stayed resolute and swatted away the break point en route to victory.
In the first match of the tie, Kostyuk survived the big-hitting Bouzas Maneiro to improve her singles record in the competition to 9-3.
The pair traded breaks twice in a marathon first set before Kostyuk upped her level to clinch the tiebreak.
Kostyuk dropped serve in the opening game of the second set but quickly recovered to claim three breaks of her own and take the victory.
"Just to represent my country here in the World Cup, just being here, doesn’t matter I win or lose, is such a big honour,” said Kostyuk.
D.Schneider--BTB
