GLASGOW, Scotland— Australia reached the final of the biggest team event in women’s tennis for the 19th time after winning the decisive doubles on a match tiebreaker to beat Britain 2-1 in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Storm Sanders had already put a point on the board for the Australians with an opening singles win and she then partnered Sam Stosur to a 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 10-6 victory over Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls in a nerve-racking doubles match in Glasgow.
Sanders beat Heather Watson 6-4, 7-6 (3) before Britain fought back through Harriet Dart, who won 7-6 (3), 6-2 against Ajla Tomljanovic.
Britain was in the semifinals for the first time since 1981, surpassing pre-event expectations.
Australia, the top-ranked women’s team, will head into the final looking to win the event formerly known as the Fed Cup for an eighth time – and first time since 1974. The Australians lost in the final in 2019.
Australia will now face Switzerland in the championship tie. The Swiss will play for the title for a second straight year after outdueling the Czech Republic to sweep the two singles rubbers.
Viktorija Golubic kicked off the day with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Karolina Muchova. Belinda Bencic sealed the win for Switzerland by coming back from 5-2 down in the second set and saving a set point to defeat Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 7-6(6).
Switzerland is bidding to win its first Billie Jean King Cup title, having finished runner-up in 2021 and 1998.
The Aussies, who were Billie Jean King Cup runners-up as recently as 2019, are seeking their first championship since 1974, when they won their seventh title in an 11-year span.
n the opening match of the day, Australia’s Sanders continued her impressive singles performance from throughout the week. The 28-year-old is ranked inside the Top 10 in doubles but No.237 in singles, and yet, Sanders has gone 3-0 in singles play in Glasgow thus far.
Forays into the net and excellent passes gave left-handed Sanders the first set. In the second set, Sanders took complete control in the tiebreak, taking four of the first five points with winners.
Sanders earned five match points with a backhand winner for 6-1, and she converted her third match point with another strong backhand. Sanders finished the clash having saved four of the five break points she faced.
However, 98th-ranked Dart put Great Britain back in contention. World No.33 Tomljanovic, a three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist over the last two years, had beaten Dart in their two previous meetings, but Dart powered to the upset win in 1 hour and 49 minutes.
Dart saw an early break and a set point at 5-4 slip away as Tomljanovic’s gritty court coverage pulled her into the first-set tiebreak. Dart, though, maintained her aggressive stances in the breaker, and a forehand crosscourt winner gave her three more set points at 6-3.
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