World No.1 Iga Swiatek powered Poland into the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals with a 6-0 6-0 victory over Romanian debutante Andreea Prisacariu in the first reverse singles on Saturday.
On Day 2 of the BNP Paribas Open Qualifiers in Radom, Poland, Swiatek recorded her 19th victory in a row to secure her nation’s unassailable 3-0 lead and a spot in the team competition’s finals for the first time.
Poland eventually won 4-0. Two of those wins were Swiatek’s and she lost just one game in those two matches. “I was really working hard for that even though I didn’t play [the competition] last year,” the 20-year-old said. “I feel it’s been a long journey. It took us a few years, step by step to progress and qualify finally.”
USA, Canada, Italy, Kazakhstan, Spain and the Czech Republic also advanced into the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Belgium had received a walkover because of the suspension of Belarus. Australia, Slovakia, Belgium and Switzerland received automatic bids. The 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals will take place in November, at a site to be announced.
Italian Camila Giorgi won both her singles matches on home soil in Alghero, including the decisive third point with a 6-2 6-0 victory over France’s Harmony Tan 6-2 6-0. France has lost three straight ties since winning the Fed Cup title in 2019.
Kazakhstan upset Germany in Nur-Sultan, 3-1. Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber lost both her singles matches, including the decisive one against Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 7-5.
The Czech Republic, six-time winners since 2011, edged Great Britain in Prague, 3-2. The tie was decided in the doubles rubber, as Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova defeated Harriet Dart and Katie Swan 6-1 7-5.
Spain triumphed 4-0 without dropping a set against the host Netherlands, in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Canada defeated Latvia in Vancouver 4-0 and the USA edged Ukraine 3-2.
