Jessica Pegula on Saturday sealed victory for the US over Austria, as the record 18-time champions secured their place in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
World No. 3 Pegula made quick work of Julia Grabher, winning 6-1, 6-3, to give the heavily favored Americans an unassailable 3-0 lead over Austria in their tie in Delray Beach, Florida.
“I really wanted to clinch today,” Pegula said. “It’s so much more exciting when you get to guarantee your team through.”
Photo: AP
It was a second singles victory in 24 hours for Pegula after she followed up Coco Gauff’s opening win over Grabher on Friday by defeating Sinja Kraus in straight sets.
Canada defeated Belgium 3-2 with Leylah Fernandez and Gabriela Dabrowski winning the deciding doubles game with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kirsten Flipkens and Greet Minnen.
In Saturday’s singles games, Minnen beat Katherine Sebov 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and Fernandez fought back for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Ysaline Bonaventure.
The Czech Republic saw off Ukraine 3-1, with Marketa Vondrousova earning the winning point against Katarina Zavatska 6-3, 6-4, after former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova lost 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to 38th-ranked Marta Kostyuk.
World No. 5 Caroline Garcia sent France through with a 6-1, 6-7 (10/12), 6-1 win over Britain’s Harriet Dart in Coventry.
Britain, which reached the semi-finals last year, were missing Emma Raducanu, leaving 138th-ranked Dart as their top singles player.
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina beat Poland’s Magda Linette to wrap up victory for Kazakhstan.
Rybakina won 6-4, 6-2 in the third rubber in Astana having also won Friday against Weronika Falkowska when teammate Yulia Putintseva defeated Linette.
“I’m delighted that Kazakhstan will be able to fly our flag on this big stage once again,” Rybakina said after the tie against a Polish side missing injured world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Nuria Parrizas Diaz secured Spain’s win over Mexico on clay in Marbella, breezing past 196th-ranked Marcela Zacarias 6-3, 6-0.
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
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