The only two Top 10 players in the year-end WTA rankings competing at this week’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals put on a show in Monday’s semifinals, as world No. 2 Iga Swiatek outlasted world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini in a tense 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 second rubber to send the tie to a third and deciding doubles match.
But it was Paolini, ultimately, who had the last laugh as she returned to the court later in the evening with Sara Errani to defeat Swiatek and Katarzyna Kawa 7-5, 7-5 to put four-time BJK Cup champions Italy through to the final for the second year in a row.
The Olympic gold medalists saved three set points in the first set, and pulled off a stunning comeback in set two to secure the match in straight sets. Errani and Paolini trailed 5-1 in the second set, but won the last six games to leave Poland reeling—and finished things off as Errani struck an underarm serve that left Swiatek befuddled.
Italy will face either Great Britain or Slovakia in the final as it hopes to win its first Billie Jean King Cup title in 11 years.
Paolini had won a combined nine games in three previous matches against Swiatek, having never won a set, but came out swinging in pursuit of a second singles win representing Italy for the week in the hotly-anticipated Top 10 singles affter.
She won four straight games from a break down to steal the first set to put Italy on the precipice of putting the four-time Billie Jean King Cup champions into the championship tie.
But Swiatek, who beat former world No. 2 Paula Badosa in Poland’s clincher against Spain, and posted two wins against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, to get Poland to the semifinals, had other plans, despite consistent pressure from the Italian. Swiatek saved 13 of the 16 break points she faced in the more than two-and-a-half-hour tilt, including all five in the second set, to eventually turn the match around.
She came through with clutch play late in each set. After denying Paolini three break points at 1-1, and two at 2-2, Swiatek broke serve for the first time since 2-2 in the first set to send the match the distance. Later, after seeing Paolini draw even in the third set from 3-1 behind, Swiatek’s continued easy service holds put pressure on Paolini serving second.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist eventually cracked in the match’s final game, losing serve from 30-15 up to put the match in Swiatek’s pocket.
Earlier, Lucia Bronzetti defeated Magda Linette in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(3) to put Italy ahead 1-0 in the tie. Bronzetti, the world No. 78, had never before played a Billie Jean King Cup singles match, but regrouped after letting Linette level the second set at 4-4 from 4-1 up, and twice being a game away from a third set.
