Russia won the first edition of the Billie Jean King Cup by beating Switzerland in the final by two wins to zero on Saturday night in Prague, without having to play a decisive double.
In the first single of this final, the Russian Daria Kasatkina, 28th in the world, easily defeated the Swiss Jil Teichmann (39th), in two sets 6-2, 6-4 and less than an hour and twenty minutes.
“
It's an incredible feeling. I am happy to bring this very important point to my team,
”said Kasatkina. “
The mentality was the key to this game. I remained very solid from start to finish and I am happy with my level of play
”. The second single was much closer between Liudmila Samsonova (40th in the world) and Belinda Bencic (17th) who took the first set 6-3. She had lost only one round this week, in three games, before this final.
The Russian then replied with the same score in the second, then made the entry break to lead 2-0 and concluded at 6-4 in the third, from her first match point, after 2:22 of game. "
I have too many emotions there now, I have the impression that I am paralyzed and it is really incredible
", reacted Samsonova after her victory. “
It was an incredible fight, more than tennis,
” added the one who replaced injured Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the last minute.
"
It's a historic victory for us,
" summed up the captain of the Russian team, Igor Andreev.
“
I'm very proud and very happy for the girls for the way they played.
They are incredible, they are heroines, they succeeded because they are a real team and because they are real friends
”.
The Billie Jean King Cup succeeds the Fed Cup by teams, a previous competition between nations whose final edition took place in 2019, won by France.
In the semi-finals on Friday, Russia eliminated the United States 2-1 and Switzerland eliminated Australia 2-0.
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