The Russian Tennis Federation has claimed its fifth Billie Jean King Cup title. In a dominating performance, the Russian ladies put on an confident display against Switzerland in the final under the lights of the O2 Arena in Prague.
Steered by Heinz Gunthardt, the Swiss team was in fine form coming into the final and stuck to the trusted singles combination that had been successful in wins over hosts Czech Republic, Germany and Australia. The RTF coach, Igor Andreev, more experimental and daring in the group phase, chose to change his team’s line-up once again.
First, Andreev went for the well-rested Daria Kasatkina who kicked off the final’s first singles rubber, up against Jil Teichmann. It was a wise gambit, as the world number 28 got the better of the Swiss player, taking the match 6-2 6-4 and establishing a 1-0 lead. The second match saw Switzerland's Belinda Bencic take the first set against Liudmila Samsonova. The 22-year-old Russian turned out to be the revelation of the tournament, playing like a seasoned top-tenner, and fought back to take the second. An early break of serve was all that was needed as her big serves kept her ahead of her Swiss opponent throughout the third set. As a Bencic backhand sailed long, Samsonova raised her arms in victory as well as relief that this arduous battle against the Olympic gold medalist was finally over, posting a final score of 3-6 6-3 6-4.
In bringing all their stars to Prague, the Russian Tennis Federation had a plethora of players to choose from, which allowed coach Andreev to mix-and-match the players for different rubbers throughout the week. This turned out to be a winning strategy in ties against Canada, France and USA, and one which other nations might choose to emulate in forthcoming editions.
As finalists, Russia and Switzerland automatically qualify for the 12-team finals, alongside the host nation yet to be confirmed. The remaining 9 spots will be made up of the winning nations from the 2022 qualifiers, due to be held on April 15-16:
2022 qualifiers
Home teams listed first:
Australia vs. Slovakia
France vs. Italy
United States vs. Ukraine
Czech Republic vs. Great Britain
Belarus vs. Belgium
Kazakhstan vs. Germany
Canada vs. Latvia
Netherlands vs. Spain
Poland vs. Romania
For full results from Prague, visit billiejeankingcup.com