Great Britain inflicted a heavy blow on hosts Australia on the opening day of their Billie Jean King Cup tie in Melbourne to close in on securing a place in the competition’s finals later this year.
The British team entered the showdown as underdogs, following the absence of many of their star players, including top-100 players Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Katie Boulter, and Fran Jones. However, they pulled well above their weight with 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic marking her debut in the event by stunning Talia Gibson 7-6(4), 7-5. Stojsavljevic won the 2024 US Open junior title in 2024 but is yet to break into the top 250 on the professional Tour.
“It feels amazing. I can’t believe it. I can’t even remember the last point,” BBC Sport quoted Stojsavljevic as saying after the match. “I had amazing support from the side and managed to get through.
“It was a good match. We have very similar games, both quite aggressive, so I’m happy to get through it.”
Gibson’s loss is even more surprising given her recent surge in success on the Tour that has seen her rise to a ranking high of 56th in the world. Last month, she defeated five top-20 players across two tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.
“It’s my first time playing a match in the Billie Jean King Cup for Team Australia, so there was obviously some nerves out there today and not the way I would have liked to have played and not the result that I would have liked to have had happened,” Gibson said via The Australian Associated Press.
“Credit to Mika, she came out playing really well, served amazing, so I did my best with what I was able to bring today, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”
Later on the opening day of the tie, Britain secured a 2-0 lead after Harriet Dart battled back from a set and a break down to beat Kimberly Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. 29-year-old Dart has been as high as 70th in the world but is currently ranked over 100 places lower and has been playing mainly on the ITF circuit this season, apart from the qualifying rounds at the Australian Open.
“Kim is such an amazing player and such a fighter and I knew it was always going to be really tough, especially here in Australia,” Dart said during her on-court interview.
“Just super happy to be able to get the win after Mika’s incredible performance before me.”
As a result of the double win, Britain needs to win just one out of the next three matches played on the second day of their tie with Australia on Saturday. A doubles match will be followed by two reverse singles matches. However, the tie could end earlier should Britain win the doubles.
“We have very tough opponents, so we have to be ready tomorrow,” said Dart.
“Of course, we’re pleased with today’s performances to get us above on the board but tomorrow is all to play for and we’ve got to stay very focused.”
Great Britain are targeting a place in the BJK Cup Finals for the third consecutive year. In 2024 and 2025, they reached the semi-final stage of the knockout event, which this year will be held between 22 and 27 September in Shenzhen, China.
