Paolini steers Italy past China in BJK

SHENZHEN: Jasmine Paolini rescued Italy's Billie Jean King Cup title defence campaign by triumphing in singles and doubles to secure a 2-1 victory for her team over hosts China in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

The Italians rallied back from a 1-0 deficit early in the tie to book a last-four meeting on Saturday with Ukraine, who edged past Belgium earlier in the day at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.

Paolini and Sara Errani were pushed to their limits and had to overcome fatigue and nerves before they squeezed past Guo Hanyu and Jiang Xinyu 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in a deciding doubles clash that ended just shy of 1:00 am.

"It feels amazing. When we saw the draw that again we were up against China, we were like, woah, it's so tough, one more time to play the home team," said Paolini, who was also part of the Italian side that beat China in last year's quarter-finals.

"It's always tough and this year, maybe it was even tougher. But I think we did an amazing job, I think it was an amazing show today."

In her first Billie Jean King Cup on-court appearance for China since 2021, world number 55 Zhang Shuai crushed Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-0, 6-2 in 62 minutes, giving the hosts an early advantage in the tie.

"I'm 37 years old. I play everything many times. I think I can handle this moment," said Zhang after the match.

Paolini then came to the rescue, posting her first victory in four meetings with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to keep Italy's bid for a threepeat alive and force a deciding doubles.

Zheng broke Paolini as she was serving for the win in the second set and had the better start in the tiebreak but the Italian two-time Grand Slam runner-up recovered to secure the point in straight sets.

It was Paolini's ninth consecutive victory at the Billie Jean King Cup and she claimed her 10th three hours later when she partnered Errani for the doubles win.

Both Italians struggled on serve but relied on their long-time successful partnership, which yielded them Olympic gold and a Roland Garros crown within the last three years, to stave off a stiff challenge from the Chinese.

- Ukraine triumph -

Meanwhile, Anhelina Kalinina was the hero of the day for Ukraine as she won both her singles and doubles matches to contribute the two points needed to overcome a stubborn Belgium team and secure her nation a second consecutive semi-final appearance at the Billie Jean King Cup.

"It's been a long day today with a lot of, lot of tennis," said the 29-year-old Kalinina.

"I'm really happy for our team, that we made this team effort and we get through this challenge, for sure, because I think today Team Belgium showed really, really great and high-quality tennis."

Back on team Ukraine for the first time since her competition debut three years ago, Kalinina opened the tie with a 6-7 (6/8), 6-1, 6-1 victory over world number 474 Jana Otzipka.

The 21-year-old Otzipka was making her first Billie Jean King cup appearance for Belgium and dug deep to clinch a tight 58-minute first set against an opponent positioned 426 spots higher than her in the rankings.

In the second singles match of the tie, Greet Minnen battled for two hours and 47 minutes to pull off an impressive 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-4 upset over Ukrainian world number seven Elina Svitolina and keep Belgium's hopes alive.

Kalinina then returned to the court, teaming up with Lyudmyla Kichenok for a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Magali Kempen and Lara Salden that completed the 2-1 triumph for Ukraine. - AFP