SHENZHEN, China, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Czech Republic brushed aside Ukraine to win their 12th Billie Jean King Cup title in Shenzhen, China, on Sunday, with Karolina Muchova and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova delivering an unassailable 2-0 lead in the final.
Wimbledon runner-up Muchova swept past Anhelina Kalinina 6-2 6-3 in the opening singles rubber before Noskova toppled world number seven Elina Svitolina 6-3 7-6(5) to seal the title.
The Czechs are the second-most successful nation in the history of the premier international women’s team competition, behind the United States, who hold a record 18 titles. Ukraine were seeking their first Billie Jean King Cup crown.
“It’s very special,” Muchova said. “A dream of mine to lift the trophy. To do it with these girls sitting here, it’s a pleasure.
“I’m just so proud of us – how we manage whole week, how we fight, how we practice whole week, how we just have the vibe in the locker room. It was such a nice time.
“To win it is like a cherry on the top. I’m just so grateful it happened, that we can celebrate now.”
Muchova laid the foundations for victory with a dominant serving performance, firing eight aces and winning 86% of points behind her first serve. The world number eight did not face a break point and converted four of her five break-point opportunities during the 70-minute contest.
Noskova was tested more sternly by Svitolina but the 21-year-old produced another composed display, striking 10 aces and holding firm in a tense second set to complete the title-clinching victory in one hour and 33 minutes.
Katerina Siniakova, a 12-time Grand Slam women’s doubles champion, had been named alongside Marie Bouzkova for the doubles rubber, but the Czech Republic wrapped up the tie in the singles to seal their first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2018.
Ukraine had stunned two-time defending champions Italy in the semi-finals to reach their first Billie Jean King Cup final, while the Czech Republic advanced to their first title decider since 2018 by beating Spain.
The Billie Jean King Cup began in 1963 as the Federation Cup, launched by the International Tennis Federation to mark its 50th anniversary and conceived as the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup.
The inaugural tournament, featuring 16 nations, was staged at Queen’s Club in London, where the United States – with Billie Jean King, then Billie Jean Moffitt, in the team – beat Australia in the final.
The competition was shortened to the Fed Cup in 1995, when its format was overhauled to introduce home-and-away ties.
It retained that name until 2020, when it was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in honour of King, who won the competition seven times as a player and four times as captain, including once as player-captain. The rebranding also coincided with another restructuring of the competition around a central Finals event.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Goa;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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