By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, November 5, 2021
Belinda Bencic beat Ajla Tomljanovic sending Switzerland into the Billie Jean King Cup final vs. Russia, which defeated the USA in its semifinal today.
Photo credit: Pavel Lebeda/ITF
Belinda Bencic continues to spread Swiss Bliss.
Olympic gold-medal champion Bencic beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2 sending Switzerland into tomorrow's Billie Jean King Cup final against the Russian Tennis Federation in Prague.
More: Bencic's Heroics Inspire Switzerland
It is Switzerland's first Billie Jean King Cup final since 1998 when a Swiss squad led by Hall of Famer Martina Hingis and lefty spin doctor Patty Schnyder fell to Spain, 3-2, after holding a 2-1 lead.
The Swiss side will play for their first Billie Jean King Cup against a talented Russian Tennis Federation squad, which won the decisive doubles to defeat 18-time champion United States, 2-1, in today's first semifinal.
Switzerland charged into the final on the strength of standout singles performances by Bencic and buddy Jil Teichmann.
Left-hander Teichmann reeled off 16 straight points in the first set and burst through nine consecutive games sweeping Storm Sanders 6-0, 6-3 to stake Switzerland to a 1-0 lead over Australia and set the stage for Bencic's clinching heroics.
At the Tokyo Olympic Games, Bencic made history winning Switzerland's first singles gold medal and partnered Viktorija Golubic to capture the silver medal in doubles. The former world No. 4 will try to continue this golden year in the final against Russia.
Four-time champion Russian Tennis Federation clinched its semifinal victory over the United States with a dynamic doubles performance.
Liudmila Samsonova and Veronika Kudermetova broke twice in each set clinching the RTF's return to the final with a 6-3, 6-3, victory over CoCo Vandeweghe and Shelby Rogers in a decisive doubles match that capped a near seven-hour tie between tennis super powers.
Russian captain Igor Andreev started Samsonova in today's opening singles and she rewarded his belief rallying for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph over 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens giving RTF a 1-0 lead.
A spirited Danielle Collins fired 50 winners fighting off French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a fierce 6-7(9), 7-6(2), 6-2 victory to level the tie and force the decisive doubles.