Kartal got the Brits off to a winning start as she earned a confident victory on her Billie Jean King Cup debut, beating Jule Niemeier 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 27 minutes.
“I’m super proud of that debut match,” Kartal said in her on-court interview. “It’s obviously nerve wracking coming out here first on and I’m proud of that performance. I think the crowd definitely stuck with me.”
Over the past few months, the British No.3 has shown us the damage her game can do when up against some of the world’s best players and today was no different.
Stepping onto court for her first Billie Jean King Cup match, there were bound to be some early signs of nerves for Kartal. The Brit was immediately placed on the backfoot as a brilliant cross-court backhand winner sealed an early break of serve for Niemeier, which she immedaitely backed up.
The German – who was eager to bounce back from yesterday’s defeat against Dutchwoman Eva Vedder – looked to throw all her pace at the Brit but as Kartal settled into the match, she quickly managed to match the German blow for blow.
Soaking up all the pace from Niemeier’s racket, Kartal began to work her way back into the contest – stringing together a run of four games to edge ahead for the first time.
A failed overhead from Niemeier at 4-3 presented Kartal up with her fourth break point, which she capitalised on to earn a chance to serve for the set. Althought the world No.120 broke straight back, a few costly errors in her following service game were enough for Kartal to seize her opportunity and take the first set.
The Brighton native continued to stay on top in the rallies in the second – dominating and moving Niemeier around from the baseline. to seal a fifth break on the German’s serve.
From there it was one way traffic for the world No.60. Another thundering forehand from Kartal brought up two match points before forcing an error from Niemeier to secure her first win for the Lexus GB team.
Great Britain secured the win against Germany after British No.1 Boulter pulled off a comeback victory over Tatjana Maria to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
“It was a really tough match, especially as it’s my first match on clay,” Boulter beamed. “To come out against someone who is such a good tennis player and is very quirky, plays so many shots, it’s never easy playing against her.
“I’m really pleased with the way I came back today and fought, found a way and played some really good stuff in the second and third set. I’m very proud of myself today. I just kept believing.”
Heading into the contest against Maria, it was Boulter who led the head-to-head having won all three of their previous meetings.
It was a tough start for Boulter who fell down 15-40 on her opening service game to the German. The Brit did well to save two break points to get back to deuce but a forehand fired long saw her hand Maria an early break.
Unlike her German opponent, this marked Boulter’s first match on the clay this year and it took her a few games to find her feet on the surface again. Maria was causing her all sorts of problems, utilising the slice to great effect and making it difficult for the Brit to get much control in the rallies.
A pair of double faults from Boulter was all that was needed to concede the double break and hand Maria the opening set.
Rallied on by the rest of the Lexus GB team, Boulter came out with a more positive mindset in the second – battling back from another break down to draw level.
The three-time WTA titlist managed to find an opening on the Maria serve at 4-3 when she sent a brace of scorching return winners to secure the break and eventually level the tie to a set apiece.
With the momentum in her favour and the confidence flowing, Boulter continued to turn up the heat in the decider and made the perfect start as she clinched the first 11 points in a row.
The British No.1 was particularly impressive on the return, where she won 80% of points on Maria’s first serve during the deciding set. Her dominant return combined with her effective serving proved a deadly combination as she went on to clock six of the last seven games to complete the comeback and seal the tie for her country once again.
Match three: Dart and Nicholls fall short against against dominant German duo
Nicholls and Dart were hoping to make it a clean sweep for the Lexus GB team but unfortunately fell short against Laura Siegemund and Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-4, 6-1.
It was an even start to the contest, with both teams earning comfortable holds in the early stages. While the German duo had suffered defeat yesterday to the Netherlands, the pair had the advantage in that they had already played together this week and that proved to give them a crucial edge in the match.
At 2-2 in the opener, reigning Roland Garros mixed doubles champion Sigemund sparked alive to help guide the Germans to a 0-40 lead on the Brits serve before capitalising with an inch-perfect backhand.
Siegemund and Friedsam proved more clinical on serve – winning 81% of points behind their first compared to the Brits 65% as they went on to win the set in 35 minutes.
The second set saw the German duo pick up where they left off as they secured an immediate break on the Dart serve before backing it up with a hold to love.
From there, there was no stopping them, as another inch perfect volley from Siegemund secured a second break and saw them pull away to a 4-0 lead as Nicholls returned a backhand long.
Despite clocking a game on the board, the Brits struggled to break down the momentum of the German pair as they wrapped up their first and only victory of the Qualifiers in one hour.