Italy Advances to the Billie Jean King Cup Final
SHENZHEN, China – The Italian team, the current champion, secured its place in the Billie Jean King Cup final for the third consecutive year, after coming back and defeating Ukraine 2-1 in the semifinals held on Friday.
The duo composed of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, both 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 were leading 3-1 and had a chance to go up 4-2, but they committed a double fault that changed the course of the game.
This was the second crucial point won by Paolini, who managed to recover after being a set and 4-2 down against Elina Svitolina, to finally win the second singles match with partial scores of 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Marta Kostyuk had given Ukraine an initial lead, defeating Elisabetta Cocciaretto with a score of 6-2, 6-3.
Motivated by Paolini’s performance, the Italians will seek their fifth title in the 2024 final, after losing against Canada in the 2023 final.
Ukraine, for its part, was playing the semifinals for the first time in its history.
United States and Great Britain will face each other in the second semifinal on Saturday. The United States overcame Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals, while Great Britain defeated Japan.
Formerly known as the Fed Cup, the United States is the most decorated team in the competition, with 18 titles, although they haven’t won since 2017.
