Billie Jean King Cup Semifinal: More Billie Jean King Cup heroics from Harriet Dart helped Great Britain tie Australia and set up a decisive doubles match in the Glasgow semifinal.
After the euphoria of their shocking and incredibly amazing victory against Spain on Thursday to go to the semifinals for the first time since 1981, Heather Watson’s 6-4 7-6 (3) loss to Storm Sanders put Anne Keothavong’s team back in the last-chance round.
But Dart, who beat 13th-ranked Paula Badosa to record one of the biggest victories of her career, shocked 33rd-ranked Ajla Tomljanovic to win in front of a sizable crowd at the Emirates Arena.
Dart’s third powerful opponent of the week was the 29-year-old Tomljanovic, who at the US Open forced Serena Williams into retirement and has enjoyed her greatest season yet.
But because she got off to a sluggish start, Dart seized the opportunity to take up where she left off against Badosa and storm into a 3-0 lead.
When Tomljanovic rediscovered her range, the British number two maintained her lead until she served for the set at 5-3, when the strain on her serve finally caught up with her.
She squandered a set point on Tomljanovic’s serve in the following game, but the Australian, who has a reputation for struggling in crunch time, struggled miserably in the tie-break.
The 26-year-old played exceptionally well, as evidenced by her 17 victories to Dart’s five, and her break to start the second set was flawless.
Tomljanovic was angry, and a string of mistakes allowed Dart to score again for a 4-1 lead from which there was no turning back.
Watson claimed the early start to the match — Britain had previously played in the evening — had an impact on her rather than feeling the burden of expectation against a player rated far lower.
Whatever the cause, it was obvious from a away that this Watson was not the same one who defeated Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-0, 6-2 on Thursday without missing a shot.
Sanders has never cracked the top 100 and is currently ranked 237, but when she is at her best, it is obvious that she is a far stronger player than that, and this week, she earned two confident singles victories.
She put Watson under instant strain because she is a top-10 doubles player, breaking serve in the third game and employing clever strategies to prevent her opponent from establishing a rhythm.
Sanders took a medical break at the end of the first set to receive treatment for a right hip injury, and she initially seemed to be experiencing some pain. However, Watson missed an opportunity to go up 3-0 in the second set, and she then started her ascent.
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