Emma Raducanu was thrilled for her fellow compatriots after the British Billie Jean King Cup stunningly clinched a semifinal ticket in Glasgow. After losing to Kazakhstan on the opening day, Great Britain had very slim chances of qualifying for the semifinal.
But after Spain defeated Kazakhstan, Great Britain was given a small opportunity to qualify for the semifinal – they needed to beat Spain with a 3-0 score in order to qualify for the BJK Cup semifinals for the first time since 1981.
Great Britain, who entered the Spain tie as the underdogs, won all three matches versus Spain to stunningly set up a semifinal versus Australia at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. “So happy for team GB,” Raducanu wrote on her Instagram Story.
In the singles matches, Harriet Dart defeated Nuria Parrizas Dizas while Harriet Dart stunned Paula Badosa. Then, Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls defeated Aliona Bolsova and Rebeka Masarova to complete a 3-0 sweep of Spain.
Great Britain making some noise without Raducanu
Last week, British BJK Cup team captain Anne Keothavong said not having Raducanu was a big blow for the team. After they reached the semifinal, Keothavong was in disbelief.
“It was just wonderful to see everything unfold today. I still can’t believe it. To beat Spain without dropping a set. But knowing that we had to win 3-0, and then the girls just smashing it by not dropping a set, it was just unreal,” Keothavong said after the tie.
Meanwhile, Nicholls feels Great Britain could potentially win it all. “The sky’s the limit after what we have shown so far. We were definitely underdogs in this group. No doubt about it. Both the singles girls, Harriet and Heather, getting unbelievable wins today.
We have shown what we can do on the doubles court at well. I don’t see there’s any players or teams here that we shouldn’t walk onto court thinking we can’t beat. We will just keep going,” Nicholls said.
