LONDON (AP) — Naomi Osaka had 15 aces and put Japan within one step of reaching the Billie Jean King Cup final with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva on Friday , in the four-time Grand Slam winner’s first match in the team tournament since 2020.
Osaka, who returned to the tour after becoming a mother in July last year, saved all three break points she faced and compiled a 31-16 advantage in winners. Her victory in Tokyo followed Nao Hibino’s 6-1, 6-0 win over Anna Danilina and gave Japan a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup.
Two more singles matches and one doubles match are scheduled for Saturday.
A total of 16 countries participate in the Friday and Saturday qualifiers, with the winners advancing to the 12-member Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville in November. The eight who advance will join defending champion Canada, 2023 runner-up Italy, host Spain and wild card Czech Republic.
In more action on Friday, Australia took a 2-0 home lead over Mexico.
The other matches are: Belgium against the United States, in Orlando; Ukraine against Romania on Amelia Island; world number 1 Iga Swiatek and Poland visiting Switzerland; US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Great Britain against France; Germany in Brazil; and Slovenia visiting Slovakia.
In Brisbane, where the 2011 US Open champion captains Australia for the first time, Arina Rodionova beat Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, and Daria Saville defeated Marcela Zacarias 6-1, 6-0. Australia, runners-up twice in the last five years, is seeking its first title since 1974.
Source: AP
2024-04-12 22:54:48
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