Swiatek prevails in must-win match; Poland and Czechs tied 1-1 at BJK Cup
Poland and the Czech Republic are all square at 1-1 in their quarterfinal tie at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, after World No.2 Iga Swiatek battled to an incredibly hard-fought win on Saturday in Malaga, Spain.
Swiatek held on for a 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5 victory over hard-hitting Czech teen Linda Noskova to keep her Polish squad alive in the tie. Swiatek needed 2 hours and 39 minutes to hold off 26th-ranked Noskova and level proceedings.
The Czech Republic started the day ahead 1-0 when Marie Bouzkova beat Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in Saturday’s opening match.
The tie will come down to the decisive doubles rubber. Poland is seeking its very first Billie Jean King Cup title, while the Czechs have hoisted the trophy 11 times, most recently in 2018. The Czech Republic dominated this event in the 2010s, winning six times in that decade.
Swiatek came to court knowing she had to win to keep her team in title contention. Swiatek led Noskova 3-1 in the head-to-head, including two wins this year, but Noskova’s victory came on a huge occasion, when she ousted Swiatek in the third round of this year’s Australian Open.
Noskova, who turns 20 years old on Sunday, spent her last day as a teenager pushing Swiatek to the limit. After the pair went back and forth in the first set, Swiatek served for the set at 6-5, only to see Noskova fire a backhand winner into the corner to break for 6-6.
In the tiebreak, Noskova surged from 4-1 down to back on serve at 4-3. But Noskova was unnerved by a stretch return by Swiatek off of a powerful serve, and she misfired on the reply to give Swiatek a 5-3 advantage. At 5-4, Swiatek summoned two unreturned serves to take the one-set lead after 70 grueling minutes.
Neither player was pushed to deuce through 4-4 in the second set, but Noskova eventually struck back with amazing volleys to break for a 5-4 lead. The Czech closed out the second set with consecutive backhand winners, edging closer to the possible upset.
