Anne Keothavong is now targeting the Billie Jean King Cup trophy after Great Britain defeated Australia 3-1 in Melbourne.
Heading into day two action in Melbourne, Great Britain had a 2-0 lead after singles wins for Mika Stojsavljevic and Harriet Dart over Talia Gibson and Kimberly Birrell respectively.
That meant the British side had the chance to secure victory with Jodie Burrage and Dart taking on Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez in doubles.
The British duo made no mistake as they secured a 6-3 6-4 win to book Britain’s place in Shenzhen later this year.
There was a consolation win for Australia as Emerson Jones defeated Katie Swan in straight sets but Britain take the glory and book a spot in the finals.
Speaking after the match captain Anne Keothavong praised her team’s stunning win and claimed that their target is to win the title in September when they head to China, “We’re all just overjoyed,” Keothavong told the LTA website.
“It’s been an unbelievable week here in Melbourne. The tennis that was played yesterday and today was fantastic – I couldn’t ask for anything more of my team. I’m so proud of them. It’s incredibly rewarding. I have to credit the players on my team for going out there and being able to execute the way they did, holding their nerve the way they did and perform the way they did.
“We’ve travelled to the other side of the world and it’s a big ask of the players at this point in the year. On paper the Aussies were favourites – even though yesterday was amazing for us being 2-0 up, I didn’t think we could leave anything to chance today. When you have players like I’ve had this week and they come together the way they did, it feels magic.
“That’s always the ultimate goal (to win it). I know we have the players and strength and depth in the UK to do something special in this competition. I’ve felt that for some time but sometimes you need a bit of luck for everything to come together. When we head to the Finals, whoever is on my team, we aren’t there to make up the numbers that’s for sure.”
In their previous two appearances in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, Great Britain have reached the semi-finals on both occasions losing to Slovakia and USA respectively.
The British team will join the other six winners of this weekend’s ties and China in Shenzhen with the Finals taking place on the 21st of September.
