Billie Jean King Cup 2024: Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter combine to put Great Britain into Malaga semi-finals
Britain’s Usain Bolt and Raducanu have the pedigree to be at the top of their game.
Britain’s No. 1 Bolt entered the world’s top 25 after winning two WTA titles and became the third-ranked singles player at the quarter-final stage.
Former Grand Slam champion Raducanu is also ranked third among the second-ranked players.
So while defending champions Canada are ranked second in the world, Team GB have no reason to feel inferior heading into the best-of-three tie.
However, the presence of Gaby Dabrowski, world number three in doubles and recent WTA Finals winner, does mean that the decisive doubles is not a tournament the Brit is particularly fond of participating in.
Therefore, Raducanu must start with a win.
In the first set, there was a huge gap between her and 103rd-ranked Marino, which required a brutal game.
The second requirement is patience and resilience. Raducanu was forced to save seven break points in the 11th game before taking Marino’s serve.
“It was an extremely difficult match because the dynamics of each set were very different,” said 22-year-old Raducanu.
Raducanu, who has won her past four singles matches for Team GB, sets the stage for Bolt’s match against No. 31 Fernandez.
