Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina beat Weronika Falkowska 6-3, 6-4 to help her native Kazakhstan take a 2-0 lead over Poland in Billie Jean King Cup qualifying on Friday in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Rybakina’s win followed teammate Yulia Putintseva’s 7-5, 6-3 thrashing of Poland’s Magda Linette, the 19th-ranked player in the world.
Qualifying takes place Friday and Saturday at locations around the world. The winning nations advance to the finals in November. Switzerland and Austria have already qualified for the final as last year’s two finalists.
France won key tiebreaks to take a 2-0 lead against Great Britain in Coventry, England. Caroline Garcia got past Katie Boulter 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), and Alize Cornet beat Harriet Dart 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3). Italy took a 2-0 lead on Slovakia as Camila Giorgi handled Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-3, and Martina Trevisan outlasted Viktoria Hruncakova 7-6 (9), 6-3.
The Czech Republic leads Ukraine 2-0, with matches in Turkey. Spain is up against Mexico 2-0 and Romania leads Slovenia by the same margin.
The only 1-1 game so far is Germany v Brazil; Beatriz Haddad Maia got Brazil on the board first by beating Anna-Lena Friedsam 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, but Germany’s Tatjana Maria responded with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Laura Pigossi .
On Friday night, the U.S. hosts Austria in Delray Beach, Fla., and Canada faces Belgium in Vancouver.
Europe/Africa Group I
Hungary and Sweden gained promotion the next year by topping their respective groups in Antalya, Turkey. Hungary defeated the Netherlands 3-0 and Sweden got past Serbia 2-1.
The Netherlands face Serbia on Saturday to decide the third and final nation to earn a promotion spot.
Americas Group I
Argentina improved to 4-0 and could face unbeaten Colombia in their final match on Saturday in Cucuta, Colombia.
Colombia entered Friday’s meeting with Chile 3-0.
Asia/Oceania Group I
Japan swept India 3-0 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to remain the only unbeaten nation in pool play, a perfect 4-0. On Saturday, the Japanese face China, who are in second place 3-1 after sweeping Thailand.
–Field Level Media
Source: sn.dk