Hruncakova and Mihalikova win deciding doubles v Britain to send Slovakia into BJK Cup final
Raducanu won the first rubber while Sramkova came from a set down to beat Katie Boulter and force a deciding doubles
Viktoria Hruncakova at the 2023 Warsaw Open
Image Credit: Francois Asal / Panoramic
Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova sent Slovakia into their first Billie Jean King Cup final in two decades as they beat Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls 6-2, 6-2 in the doubles in Malaga, Spain on Tuesday evening.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova had earlier won their singles to send the tie into the deciding doubles rubber.
In the first match of the day, Raducanu gave Great Britain a 1-0 lead with a straight sets win over Viktoria Hruncakova in Malaga, Spain.
Raducanu, the former US Open champion, needed a little more than 90 minutes to beat Hruncakova 6-4, 6-4.
The Brit, who won both her previous singles matches this week as Great Britain beat Canada and Germany to get to this stage, built a 5-2 lead in each set. Hruncakova managed to take back one break and reduce the gap, but the Brit was able to serve out both sets at 5-4 to complete the win in straight sets.
In the second match, Sramkova came from a set down to beat Great Britain’s Katie Boulter 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. in over two hours.
Slovakia will now face Italy, who reached the final for the second year in a row with a 2-1 win over Poland.
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