Prague, November 6 (BNA) Belinda Bencic beat Australian Agla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to help Switzerland face the Billie Jean King Cup final with four-times defending champion Russia.
Switzerland reached the final for the first time since 1998 after Gilles Teichmann beat Storm Sanders 6-0, 6-3 before giving Bencic of Switzerland an unbeatable 2-0 lead by ousting Tomljanovic in front of great American Billy Jean King, who was watched from the stands, according to Reuters.
There were exhilarating scenes in the Russian camp as well when Lyudmila Samsonova teamed up with Veronika Kudermetova in the crucial doubles to help Russia beat the United States in another semi-final.
Bencic will be counted on to lead the Swiss team against favorites Russia.
“It’s unbelievable,” Bencic said on reaching the final. “I don’t think we really expected it. We had the hardest group.
“We are so happy we made it to the final. We can’t believe it yet.”
Under the new format of the tournament, 12 teams were divided into four groups of round play, and the group winners advanced to battle for the title.
Switzerland, looking to lift the trophy for the first time, picked world number 39 Tichmann to open the tie after their strong doubles display during the week.
Tishman excelled in the first set against Sanders, 92nd below her, before the Australian set up a challenge. But the Swiss regained control and smashed her seventh ace to secure victory.
“My team told me to go out and fight with everything you have,” she said. “I felt really good. I went for my shots, I played aggressively.”
In the semi-finals earlier, Russian Samsonova and Kudermetova defeated American duo Shelby Rogers and Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-3 in the decisive match.
Russia, which is seeking to win what was previously the Fed Cup for the fifth time, is competing in Prague as the Russian Tennis Federation team due to sanctions that prevent it from using its country’s flag and national anthem over doping scandals.
Danielle Collins had earlier tied the 18-time US win with a 6-7 (9) 7-6 (2) 6-2 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova after the world number 40 Samsonova, making her debut in the Billie Jean Cup. King, had given the Russians the lead with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sloane Stephens.
“I was very positive before the match. I knew it was going to be a very difficult match against Sloan,” she said, adding later after the match that she would feel confident rejoining Kudermetova’s team if Saturday’s final went to doubles.