Italy Secures its Place in the Billie Jean King Cup Final
SHENZHEN, China – The Italian team, the current champion, secured their place in the Billie Jean King Cup final for the third consecutive year, after a comeback that culminated in a 2-1 victory over Ukraine in the semifinals on Friday. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini’s duo, Roland Garros champions, sealed the victory in the decisive doubles match against Marta Kostyuk and Lyudmyla Kichenok, with a score of 6-2, 6-3. In the second set, Kostyuk and Kichenok led 3-1 and were a point away from going up 4-2, but they committed a double fault that changed the course of the match.This was the second point won by Paolini, who, after being a set and 4-2 down against Elina Svitolina, managed to recover and win the second individual with partials of 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Marta Kostyuk had given Ukraine an initial lead by defeating Elisabetta Cocciaretto with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Inspired by Paolini, the Italians will seek their fifth title in the 2024 final, after losing against Canada in the 2023 final. Ukraine, for its part, debuted in the semifinals of this tournament. The United States will face Great Britain in the second semi-final on Saturday. The United States defeated Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals, while Great Britain overcame Japan. The BJK Cup, formerly known as the Fed Cup, has the United States as the most successful team, with 18 titles, although they haven’t won since 2017.
