2022 Billie Jean King Cup

spystud

Talk Tennis Guru
Qualifiers start in a few hours. The matchups...

Italy v. France
USA v. Ukraine
Czech Republic v. Great Britain
Belarus v. Belgium
Kazakhstan v. Germany
Canada v. Latvia
Netherlands v. Spain
Poland v. Romania


Click here for the players in each tie.

 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Qualifiers start in a few hours. The matchups...

Italy v. France
USA v. Ukraine
Czech Republic v. Great Britain
Belarus v. Belgium
Kazakhstan v. Germany
Canada v. Latvia
Netherlands v. Spain
Poland v. Romania


Click here for the players in each tie.


should USA be nice and let ukraine win ? or is ukraine be scared to upset USA ?
 

spystud

Talk Tennis Guru
USA has already been pretty nice to them.

 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Qualifiers start in a few hours. The matchups...

Italy v. France
USA v. Ukraine
Czech Republic v. Great Britain
Belarus v. Belgium
Kazakhstan v. Germany
Canada v. Latvia
Netherlands v. Spain
Poland v. Romania


Click here for the players in each tie.

whos covering this ? which TV can i watch this on ??
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Watching Raducanu's first pro level clay court match versus Martincova in Pargue. It's a tight one so far, and Raducanu certainly doesn't appear to be a natural on clay, but she's certainly no disaster so this is somewhat promising going forward if she's able to improve her play with further clay court experience. It will be interesting to see if she collapses if she gets close to a W like in her previous few matches. Playing the Czechs at home is a tough ask, but Martincova is arguably one of the most beatable of the top Czech ladies. Vondrousova will be super tough tomorrow, but at least Raducanu has played her at Wimbledon last year so there's that. If she can get a W here it will be a great confidence boost for her in many ways. I'm expecting bthe Czech team to win this tie 4-1 or 5-0, frankly, so any better will be a good result for GB.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Raducanu won the first set 7-5 but is now down 0-3 in the 2nd. A straight sets win would be ideal here as even if she gets ahead in the 3rd she has been finding ways to lose matches in that position lately so it would benefit her hugely to finally get a win in straights again.
 

spystud

Talk Tennis Guru
Most players don't care about this much anymore.

Iga is really the only current star playing, she demolished Buzarnescu.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
DC is hurt, but why no Gauff, Stevens, Keys?
Rogers is there too. It's still quite a strong US team. I'm not sure Stephens would get the nod over Pegula or Rogers, and Risked has been solid for a number of months now. I guess it's because the clay season is here and they're playing this tie on indoor hard?
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Most players don't care about this much anymore.

Iga is really the only current star playing, she demolished Buzarnescu.
A 2nd demolition job is in motion, as to be expected with the gulf on the rankings. You need your top players to consistently play if you have hopes of winning the lot. Most nations don't have numerous strong top 100 players to fall back on like the Czechs. Missing their top 3 players, they still have Vondrousova, a former RG finalist playing a home tie on clay - huge advantage there over the clay novices of GB. Raducanu will do well to get 2-3 games per set here.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Watching Raducanu vs Vondrousova. MV's greater clay experience is showing. I really don't expect Raducanu to win a set in this match, but it should be a good one to see if she can troubleshoot mid-match and find some plays which work. These matches will be invaluable for her clay season going forward as she's due to play in Stuttgart next week where she will likely play a top player in R1 or a match-sharp qualifier. It appears that she has a decent game to build upon, and some nice shots in her repertoire, but she neither of the guile of Halep or the raw power of Li Na, her idols. I think after a couple of seasons on tour and with more gym work/natural growth, she will be more effective. For now, grass and fast hard courts will be where she will be most effective as she has good movement and margin, with the ability to hit more winners on faster surfaces.
 

ScottleeSV

Hall of Fame
Yet another injury for Raducanu - really frustrating. They think blisters on the right foot (?). Looks pained after a lot of points. MTO achieved very little.

That 2nd set in particular was just a waste of everybody's time. Should have shaken hands at about 4-1 first set. Hopefully not going to impede her upcoming tournaments.

Can't see Dart beating Martincova on clay so probably the tie is gone but you never know.
 
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D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Yet another injury for Raducanu - really frustrating. They think blisters on the right foot (?). Looks pained after a lot of points.
I believe she joked about having lost toenails from her training block in Italy. This is a case of needing to become battle hardened and unfortunately it will just take a few seasons. Hopefully she is able to play in Stuttgart, and fully the rest of the season so that next season isn't so disrupted.
Vondrousova is solid, her heavy lefty topspin, slice, and rallying consistency meant you needed go match her consistency and hit a heavier ball than her, striking first a lot of the time, to be in with a shot of beating her. I didn't think her game appeared to outright knock Raducanu off the court, I felt Raducanu had ample opportunities to strike but on a drab day like today the clay was slow and the court was slow in general, so going for winners needed a lot of margin and I don't think her natural power at this stage while adding spin is enough to get it through the court. You're looking at players like Badosa, Swiatek, Sakkari etc. who have that ability for days like today.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Interesting... Czech Rep. go with Linda Fruhvirtova to face Dart, with the Czech's up 2-1 and the tie still life. I guess Martincova had her opportunity yesterday, and I wonder if Muchova is still nursing an injury as she makes more sense given her experience and results.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Dart made R4 in IW and Fruhvirtova made R4 in Miami, so both with some recent tour wins. Dart took the first set 6-0. It will be interesting to see if she can hold off a drop in form, and what Fruhvirtova can do to attempt to change the outcome of set 2. It's not sunny in Prague - I wonder how quickly the court will start to play differently? Nice for the crowd and players not to have to be so chilly!
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
6-0 5-2 - brilliant from Dart! Really aggressive play with intent. Fruhvirtova definitely hasn't shown her best, and going down 6-0 3-0 is a massive hole to climb out of but she has shown some good points, so I wouldn't call this over. Dart has a few good wins lately over Svitolina, Konjuh and Kanepi, but she's still not a big match player - maybe those matches will at least have helped with this one. She doesn't have great clay prowess, so even playing the youngest Czech on the team, I think she's probably felt little pressure in this match so far. Now will be the real pressure - I wonder if she can keep it together, or if her form will dip and Fruhvirtova will play freely. You must feel huge pressure as a home player down such a score though, with the crowd wanting you to come back. She's also so young that she's not used to these tour type scenarios...

Edit: 6-0 5-3... Fruhvirtova serving to stay in the match after breaking Dart's serve to keep the rubber alive.

Edit 2: 6-0 5-4... Dart serving for the match again. It seems she isn't so good at closing a match on serve, and then with 2 MP hits a flurry of UEs and a poor drop shot (she did hit 1 thunderous backhand winner, too). At 6-0 3-0 this exact momentum shift happened which you could just feel watching the match. Any tightness from Dart and she will hit an error, even a marginal one. If she can close this out now it would be ideal as I think Fruhvirtova will be in the driving seat if this goes to a 3rd with a home crowd behind her and the damage of the 6-0 first set erradicated.

Edit 3: 5-5... You could tell this was coming I think I'm going to take a break. Typical swing of momentum at this point in the match. From 5-2 up you'd expect to win a service game and if servicing is an issue then break the opponent as you're not having to deal with your nerves on serve. Not the case unfortunately and somehow this could be going to a 3rd unless Dart can shake off her nerves immediately.
 
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D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Dart (GB) 6-0 5-7 Fruhvirtova (CZE)

Down to a 1 set shootout. Dart is livid she let that go, but sometimes being racing away with a match of such importance can be detrimental as you're losing it/throwing it away from such a big lead. Fruhvirtova is young and has a noisy crowd behind her. This will really show what potential Dart has at this stage in her career. She is playing someone who is touted to be a big deal in the coming years, so it seems more likely Fruhvirtova will have the quality to come away with the W here. Let's see...
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Dart takes it. That will be a useful experience for both players.
Now to the doubles... I'm not sure who the teams are scheduled to be. Personally I'd play Swan/Dart and Bouzkova/Vondrousova depending on who is fit.
 

ScottleeSV

Hall of Fame
I didn't think Fruhvirtova adjusted to clay anywhere near as well as she took to the hard courts. Lots of work to be done there.

Best team won in the end though - I never truly looked at that doubles line up and thought the British girls would win.

I know Dart won a match, but generally GB still need another top player to help out Raducanu. Once she's physically less injury prone, I could easily see a situation where GB lose even with Raducanu managing 2 wins from 2 (especially on hard/grass).
 

tennis4me

Hall of Fame
Fernandez leading Vismane (LAT). Canada will probably sweep Latvia 3-0. None of Latvia's to player is playing and Canada is already leading Latvia 2-0.
 

spystud

Talk Tennis Guru
Italy v. France
USA v. Ukraine
Czech Republic v. Great Britain
Belarus v. Belgium
Kazakhstan v. Germany
Canada v. Latvia
Netherlands v. Spain
Poland v. Romania

The winners...

Italy 3:1
USA 3:2
Czech 3:2
Belgium walkover
Kazakhstan 3:1
Canada 4:0
Spain 4:0
Poland 4:0

Australia, Slovakia, Switzerland, & one other nation will join them in the Finals in November.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
The groups are pretty interesting - I don't think there's an obvious favourite in any of them beside maybe the Czech Republic simply due to their success in the competition.

I'll have to go with Switzerland, Australia, Kazakhstan and Czech Republic. Any team that can field a solid doubles team will be a threat. Switzerland have Bencic/Golubic (Olympic silver medalists), Belgium have Mertens and Flipkens, Canada have Dabrowski who can pair with Fernandez or Andreescu, Australia have Sanders/Perez, Kazakhstan has Danilina to pair with Rybakina or Putintseva, USA have Gauff and McNally even after Pegula withdrew. We don't even need to mention the Czechs... We know they have a super solid doubles team!
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
1 set apiece between Boulter and Putintseva. GB really need to get a point in this rubber as Rybakina will be a much bigger task for Harriet Dart to overcome than Putintseva is for Boulter (you'd expect anyway...)
Even if GB did manage to even the tie at 1-1, I'd expect to see Rybakina teaming with Danilina in the doubles who has just played the WTA Finals in doubles - that would be a big challenge for Barnett and Nicholls (both ranked in the early 60s of the WTA doubles rankings).
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Boulter simply doesn't seem to hit a big enough ball for the game style she has. Putintseva is biding her time and injecting pace at the right moments to catch Boulter out, but Boulter isn't really doing much to ask Putintseva the necessary questions. Some more variety is needed as she doesn't seem to have a huge shot to tee off with regularly.
 

ScottleeSV

Hall of Fame
I can't watch this because BT Sport have got it rather than Amazon. Never the less, I haven't missed much. UK needed Boulter/Raducanu in the singles to have a chance, and personally I prefer Burrage to Dart as well.

I think Swiatek might have had a point about the scheduling. If Sabalenka or Garcia had been British I don't think they could have made it to Glasgow in time to play the first group match.

They need to rethink this for next time. They used to have a Fed Cup week straight after the Aussie Open until they realised it was a daft idea. Same thinking needed here.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
I can't watch this because BT Sport have got it rather than Amazon. Never the less, I haven't missed much. UK needed Boulter/Raducanu in the singles to have a chance, and personally I prefer Burrage to Dart as well.

I think Swiatek might have had a point about the scheduling. If Sabalenka or Garcia had been British I don't think they could have made it to Glasgow in time to play the first group match.

They need to rethink this for next time. They used to have a Fed Cup week straight after the Aussie Open until they realised it was a daft idea. Same thinking needed here.
It's on the red button/iPlayer on the BBC if you're in the UK.

Dart can have the odd solid week here and there but at best against a player like Rybakina you can only hope that she squeezes out a set and makes things difficult for them, which didn't happen.

Raducanu is certainly missing but I am glad she's not playing. Playing here really extends the season. She needs to heal her niggles and get a solid off season block in. I think the disruption from the end of the 2021 season really set her season off on the wrong foot this year and it never truly recovered.

The BJK Cup organisers/WTA really need to have tthis before the YEC and make sure the location is within a shorter radius for the top players who make the YEC, if they want them to play (they'd likely be the biggest draw crowd wise). If they leave it later it will clash with the ATP Finals, and if they go even later to avoid that players likely wouldn't play as they need an off season to holiday/train/condition. From what I've heard, the WTA don't even know where they will hold the YEC next year, it seems Fort Worth is just a 1 year host and they may be hopping around in the same manner as Shenzhen had a 10 year deal. Both tournaments are an opportunity for them to take some of the best women's players to locations which don't host pro tournaments but they really need to be careful and consider where they're locating the two so they don't risk having poor crowd turnouts and losing top players due to travel/such a rapid turnaround.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Are these Serve speed guns at Glasgow Juiced ??? Modest size girl Jill Teichman of Swiss is consistently clocking 106- 112 MPH on the serve gun on 1st serves..................LOL :-D :-D sometimes even 114 mph,, had no idea she had such big serves
 
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