Iga Swiatek leads Poland to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Japan, Australia and Slovakia win
LONDON (AP) — No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek clinched a berth for Poland in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals by defeating Switzerland’s Celine Naef 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to take an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five-match qualifying round.
Swiatek — who has claimed Grand Slam titles at the French Open and one at the U.S. Open — also won her opening singles match on an indoor hard court at Biel, Switzerland, on Friday.
Japan, Australia and Slovakia were among the countries that advanced Saturday to the Finals, which will be held in Seville, Spain, in November.
Japan went ahead 3-0 over Kazakhstan without needing four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka to play a second match on an indoor hard court in Tokyo. That’s because Nao Hibino beat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7) on Saturday, after Osaka’s win against Putintseva on Friday helped the hosts go up 2-0.