Britain miss out on BJK Cup final with doubles defeat

Great Britain's long wait to win the Billie Jean King Cup continues after Slovakia staged an impressive fightback to reach the final.

British number two Emma Raducanu put her team in early command with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Viktoria Hruncakova at the start of Tuesday's semi-final.

Katie Boulter, Britain's leading singles player, then missed the opportunity to secure victory by losing 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Slovakian number one Rebecca Sramkova.

It meant British hopes of reaching the final for the first time since 1981 - when the competition was known as the Federation Cup - rested on a deciding doubles match.

But Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls, who were called upon for the first time this week, lost 6-2 6-2 to Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova.

Slovakia will face 2023 runners-up Italy, who are led by world number four Jasmine Paolini, in the final.

Britain have never won the women's team event, which has been dubbed by organisers as part of the World Cup of Tennis.

Anne Keothavong's team, which also featured Harriet Dart, were aiming to become the fifth British side to contest the final in its 61-year history.

Boulter unable to drag herself - and GB - over the line

At the start of the 12-nation finals in Malaga, Britain were the second-lowest ranked team and given little chance by many people on the outside of finally landing the trophy.

Keothavong, naturally, insisted from the outset that her team had the quality to be go all the way.

Having a pair with the pedigree of 2021 US Open champion Raducanu and top-25 player Boulter has been crucial to Britain's progress.

In April's best-of-five qualifier against France - a tricky away tie on clay which British players have struggled on recently - Raducanu won both her matches with Boulter adding another to secure their progress.

The winning formula continued on the Costa del Sol - until Boulter lost to Sramkova.

Raducanu did not drop a set in her three matches, providing the platform for Boulter - who has enjoyed the finest season of her career - to finish the job.

On an indoor hard court which suits her skillset, Boulter used her punishing first serve and pacy forehand to cruise past Germany's Laura Siegemund and Canada's Leylah Fernandez.

Her level against Sramkova, ranked lower than those opponents at 48th in the world, did not reach the same heights.

Boulter lost her way as Sramkova levelled and moved a break ahead in the decider, prompting Watson and Nicholls to start warming up.

From that point Boulter showed fight to claw back the deficit, but the 28-year-old was then mortified to put a volley into the net at 30-30 in the ninth game.

The miss proved costly and swung momentum back to Sramkova, who continued her own 100% winning record in the finals.

Watson and Nicholls falter in first outing

Having watched the convincing wins against Germany and Canada from the comfort of the British bench, Watson and Nicholls arrived to a harsh welcome in Malaga.

They quickly fell 4-0 down and the double break was enough to see Hruncakova and Mihalikova, who teamed up to knock out 18-time winners USA earlier this week, through the opening set.

Watson and Nicholls improved in the second set, but they were unable to stop their opponents from striking first and they missed three break points of their own to get back on serve at 3-1.

A dejected Boulter looked on from the sidelines as Slovakia broke again before serving out the win that sealed a spot in their first final since they won the tournament in 2002.

Raducanu proving her worth to Britain

Whether Britain win the trophy sometime over the course of Raducanu's career, or not at all, remains to be seen.

But the 22-year-old has again showed over the past week why Keothavong's team need her fit and firing.

Raducanu had not played for two months before the women's team event because of a foot injury and it remained to be seen what shape she would be in.

Straight-set wins against Germany's Jule Niemeier and Canada's Rebecca Marino were encouraging given her previous absence.

Raducanu was again expected to make light work of Hruncakova, who is ranked 238th in the world and largely plays on the third-tier ITF Futures Tour.

A slow start from the Slovakian, whose game revolves around power from the baseline, allowed Raducanu to move 5-1 ahead in the first set before becoming slightly passive as her opponent improved.

Her first-serve percentage was not as high as she would have liked and her returning game also lacked rhythm as Hruncakova fought back to 5-4 before Raducanu served out.

It was a similar story in the second set.

Raducanu confidently moved a double break up before Hruncakova pinched one back, forcing the British player to again show her resilience.

The guttural roar which greeted her winning crosscourt forehand on match point indicated Raducanu's satisfaction, as did the beaming smile across her face as she handed out high fives to the whole British team afterwards.

"Every match is truly challenging and as the tournament progresses it is more and more," said Raducanu, who has thrived in the team environment.

"It was a tough match and my opponent has a huge ball strike and played above her ranking.

"I was pleased with how I composed myself and served out the sets."