All rights reserved.A screenshot from Second Life, a 2003 online virtual world which renders frames in real-time Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information / Your California Privacy Rights are applicable to you. ^ Back to Top ^ © 2021 ESPN Internet Ventures. The Russians also won the doubles for a 2-1 overall win. It was the first match for my country and I was very happy to be able to win today," the 20-year old Burel said. The Russian hit 34 winners but also produced 44 unforced errors before double-faulting on Burel's fourth match point. The 77th-ranked Burel upset Ekaterina Alexandrova, ranked 32nd, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 for her first victory over a top-50 player in her singles debut in the competition. Only the group winners advance to Friday's semifinals.Įarlier, Clara Burel kept France alive, winning the opening singles. The 12 teams in the finals are divided into four groups of three teams in a new format of the competition. Last year's edition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was very good tennis but the more important was the amazing fighting spirit from both of us."Īfter dropping the first set, the Russian broke Cornet in the opening games of the following two sets to improve her record against her 59th-ranked opponent to 7-1, hitting 34 winners on the way.Īfter the 2019 champion was upset by outsider Canada 2-1 in its opener on Monday, France needed to beat Russia 3-0 to advance. "I'm so happy and so proud of myself," Pavlyuchenkova said. The 12th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova rallied to beat Alize Cornet 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to earn Russia the semifinal spot. It could rely on its top player, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, to deliver it. I think it's quite hard putting to words when you have a performance like that."Īfter sweeping Canada 3-0 the previous day, Russia needed only one win from the best-of-three match against France to advance from Group A. "I think in this format, every game, every set counts," Collins said. Open champion.Ĭollins secured the second point by easing past Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-0 in just under one hour to seal the victory and eliminate Spain. "I came out really confident, I knew that I'm ready," said Stephens, the 2107 U.S. Stephens beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-4, 6-4, earning her seventh break of the match in the final game and converting her first match point with a backhand winner. The Russians eliminated defending champion France earlier in the day. The U.S., the most successful team in the competition formerly known as the Fed Cup with 18 titles, will face Russia in the semis. The Americans faced a must-win situation after losing to Slovakia 2-1 in Group C on Tuesday, and Sloane Stephens and Danielle Collins both earned straight-set victories to render the final doubles meaningless. PRAGUE - The United States won both singles matches against Spain to reach the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup on Wednesday. beats Spain to set up Billie Jean King Cup semifinal vs.
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