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Rybakina on form for Kazakhstan in BJK Cup / Photo: © AFP
Rybakina on form for Kazakhstan in BJK Cup
A hard-fought win for former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina moved Kazakhstan a step closer to the Billie Jean King Cup finals as they overcame Australia 2-1 in Brisbane on Thursday in the opening match in their qualifying pool.
Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic also scored wins that could take them through to the finals in China, which have been moved to September from their original date in November.
World No.10 Rybakina battled past Kim Birrell 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) at Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, rallying from 3-1 down in the first set and 5-1 behind in the second.
It gave Kazakhstan an insurmountable 2-0 lead after world number 23 Yulia Putintseva outclassed teenager Maya Joint 6-2, 6-1 in just 74 minutes in the opening rubber.
"Such a difficult match and super happy to bring the win for the team, and Yulia did a great job in her match," said Rybakina, who has an 8-1 win singles record at the BJK Cup -- previously known as the Fed Cup.
"I played pretty well in the first set, but it was difficult and I was just trying to fight in the second set when I was down."
Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez pulled off a consolation win for the Australians in the doubles but a second win for Kazakhstan over Colombia at the same venue on Friday would see them through to the finals.
- 'Amazing feeling' -
World No.70 Suzan Lamens was the star turn for the Netherlands in The Hague as they romped to the 3-0 sweep to claim their first victory over Germany for 35 years.
After Eva Vedder's straight-sets win over Jule Niemeier - a player ranked 145 places above her - Lamens put in a gutsy performance to come back from a set down to beat Tatjana Maria 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a match lasting two hours and 13 minutes.
After a brief break, Lamens, who won all 10 of her matches for Netherlands last season in the BJK Cup, returned to the court with Demi Schuurs to win the doubles in straight sets.
Poland beat Switzerland at this stage in the competition last season, and Katarzyna Kawa's hard-fought 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over Jil Teichmann - her first in the BJK Cup - gave them the chance to match that in Radom.
"It's an amazing feeling, it's the first time I did it in singles, it's really precious for me," a delighted Kawa said after.
"I've been waiting so long for this one, fighting so hard to get here and to get the chance to play. To win these points, I'm really, really happy."
Magda Linette, an Australian Open semi-finalist in 2023, secured the tie as she beat Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-3.
Maria Chwalinska then teamed up with Martyna Kubka to beat Celine Naef and Susan Bandecchi in three sets to complete an impressive 3-0 sweep.
Poland can book their place in the finals by beating Ukraine on Friday.
World No.17 Beatriz Haddad Maia was outplayed by Linda Noskova, going down 6-4, 6-0 as Brazil slumped to a 2-1 loss against the Czech Republic in Ostrava.
The BJK Cup qualifiers feature six groups of three nations as the finals transition from a 12-team tournament to an eight-team event, mirroring the men's Davis Cup format.
Each group winner will join hosts China and defending champions Italy at the finals.
Teams finishing second and third in each group will move to November play-offs, alongside the best-performing countries from the 2025 regional Group I events.
Those group play-off winners will book their place in the 2026 qualifiers.
G. Souza--JDB
