By Tony Fairbairn
- Great Britain were knocked out of the Billie Jean King Cup at the semi-final stage for a second consecutive year.
- Katie Boulter admits that her personal motivation is back after a ‘positive’ display against Jessica Pegula
SHENZHEN, CHINA – Katie Boulter has restored her personal motivation and confidence despite Great Britain’s semi-final heartbreak to USA.
It was semi-final heartbreak for Great Britain once again at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals as they lost 2-0 to USA.
Entering the final eight tournament, the British team weren’t in the best form but saved their best tennis for the big occasions in Shenzhen.
Before the semi-finals, the British team overcame Japan 2-0 in the quarter-finals after wins for Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter.
It was Kartal who was up first as she took on Ena Shibahara in the first singles rubber and was in control for most of the contest.
A dominant opening set from Kartal was produced as she displayed good rally tolerance and power, taking an early double break lead at 3-0.
At the start of the match Shibahara was nervous and passive as she struggled to settle into the match.
Eventually Shibahara used her doubles prowess to her advantage as she secured one of the breaks back and put pressure on the Kartal serve.
However, it’s a testament to Kartal’s maturity and development that she was able to overcome the challenge with relative ease as she held and broke again to claim an impressive opening set.
The second set was more of a test with Shibahara being more aggressive on return and coming to the net to finish points off more easily.
Although there were comfortable holds of serve, Kartal was struggling to break down Shibahara’s serve.
Both players had opportunities to prevent a tiebreak but ultimately it was a tiebreak that decided the outcome of this set.
It was Shibahara who had the early advantage but it was Kartal who had the last laugh as she powered through the tiebreak 7-4 and secured the opening rubber for Great Britain.
That meant it was up to Boulter to finish the job as she took on Moyuka Uchijima in the second rubber.
It was a challenging start to the match with Boulter unable to be consistent enough on return in order to break down Uchijima’s serve.
However, the persistent pressure eventually paid off as Boulter broke for 3-2 and would hold from 0-30 in order to consolidate the break.
That gave Boulter more confidence to go for her shots as she secured the double break in the seventh game before comfortably securing the opening set.
The second set wasn’t much different in terms of outcome as Uchijima’s unforced errors continued to mount up.
A composed Boulter secured three breaks of serve in the second set as she dominated the contest to put Anne Keothavong’s side into the semi-finals for a second consecutive year.
Next up for the British team would be a strong USA side two days later in the semi-finals with the winners facing defending champions Italy in the final.
Once again Kartal led the British team into battle as she took on former US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro.
Neither player was in good form heading into Shenzhen and that showed in this scrappy battle where both players loved to battle and fight their way through the match.
There was a good response from Kartal after being broken in the opening game as she immediately broke back before holding for a 2-1 lead.
The Brit carried the momentum through to the next few games as she broke the Navarro serve once again before consolidating for a 4-1 lead.
There was no giving up from Navarro though as she was starting to win the long baseline exchanges and broke back in a tight seventh game.
However, unforced errors were Navarro’s Achilles heel and Kartal took immediate advantage by breaking again before finishing off the set with an incredible smash winner to take the first set 6-3.
An upset was potentially on the cards as Kartal started the second set like she ended the first with consistent pressure and she broke in the opening game of the second set.
Despite Navarro breaking back, Kartal continued to find the angles and probed the American’s baseline game to good effect.
A break in the fifth game gave Kartal more momentum but the Brit didn’t do anything to really capitalize on it.
There was a change in tactics from Navarro on return and the American survived some tough service games to put herself in a good position in the second set.
In the tenth game it was Kartal who faltered with a very loose game as Navarro broke to force a deciding set in this brutal first match.
The final set saw both players produce their best tennis when it mattered most to begin the set with Navarro producing some big returns on big points to secure the early break at 3-1.
Kartal was accustomed to producing under pressure and returned the favour in the following game by immediately breaking back.
However, Navarro was way too strong consistently on return as she broke again and overcame a late resurgence from Kartal to give USA an early 1-0 lead.
That loss for Kartal meant that Boulter needed to beat former US Open finalist Jessica Pegula in order to force a deciding doubles.
It was a positive start from Boulter who produced an aggressive start on return and was effective on return as she broke for an early 3-2 lead.
There was a lot of errors from Pegula in the opening set but everything was going in for Boulter as she was aggressive and proactive.
Another efficient return game saw Boulter finish off the perfect set, breaking for a second time to win the opening set.
In the second set, Pegula was much more consistent and proactive with the American breaking for a 2-1 lead.
There were still moments of capitulation from Pegula as Boulter immediately broke back but the American seemed to know when to raise her level when it mattered most.
Another break of serve in the fifth game did the damage for Pegula and the American saved two break points in order to edge to the second set, levelling the match at one set all.
The final set started positively for Boulter as she showed her resilience by breaking back after Pegula broke serve in the third game.
Ultimately it ended in disappointment for Great Britain and Boulter as Pegula took the next four games to seal USA’s passage into the final four.
Boulter restores personal motivation despite defeat, Keothavong proud of British effort
Another semi-final defeat for Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup as the USA proved too strong.
It was a defeat that displayed the British team’s resilience though as they pushed USA hard in both singles matches.
That effort is something Keothavong is proud of despite falling short of glory in Shenzhen.
“I think the players either side of me should hold their heads high. We really took it to the American team,” Keothavong told The Guardian.
“The matches were close, there were chances in both matches, in the second set, for both players. “I’ve said throughout the week, this competition is really important to all of us. I think you could see how much it meant to the players competing out there, how much they wanted it. They threw everything at it but came up short.
“That’s sport for you.”
There were personal boosts for the British team as Boulter showed signs that she is gradually getting back to her best.
The Brit suggested that she is back to being motivated on court and drew positives from her defeat to Pegula.
“I always love walking out there and playing for my country. I think for me it’s where I get my biggest wins and my lowest losses,” Boulter explained to The Guardian.
“At the same time I know it’s going to motivate me for a very long time. Obviously a match like that against a top-quality player, I can’t expect myself to win every time. I’m actually at a stage where I expect myself to win those matches, which is why it hurts more. I think that’s a good thing. I think it shows the level that I’m at and I take the positive side of that.
“I feel like my motivation’s back and I feel like it’s there every single day.”
Meanwhile, Kartal stated that it was a huge ‘honour’ to represent her country and is hoping to build some momentum heading into the end of the season.
“It was my first experience this year of playing the qualifiers and playing here. I think there’s a lot of emotion,” Kartal suggested to The Guardian.
“I am gutted we couldn’t pull through it, hopefully I can take this match and it gives me the momentum that I was having the last few months. It’s these weeks that I’ve always said that are the highlights in people’s careers. For me, playing these events is top three.
“It’s a huge honour to represent your country. I think these are the most enjoyable weeks, the toughest weeks. Like Katie said, it’s tough when we get this close. It’s been an unbelievable week for me. I’ve loved every single second.”
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