Slovakia have taken a 1-0 lead in their Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge quarter-final against Australia. Viktoria Hruncakova beat Kimberly Birrell 7-5 6-7(4) 6-3 to put her side just one win away from reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2002.
After Thursday night’s thrilling upset of the United States, Slovakia captain Matej Liptak decided to tinker with his line-up on Sunday morning, bringing in Hruncakova to replace Renata Jamrichova in the No.2 singles position. It was a move that paid off.
Throughout the first set, Hruncakova was the more proactive player, firing nine aces and a further 13 baseline winners. While she couldn’t convert her two break points at 2-2, she had a timely surge at the end of the set, winning eight points in a row to take a one set lead.
With little to choose between the two players, the second set headed to a tiebreak and it was full of mini breaks and momentum swings. The decisive one came when Birrell struck a huge forehand return winner to go up 5-3 and closed it out confidently from there.