Slovenia beat Australia in BJK Finals opener

Nov 7 (Reuters) – Australia, last year’s Billie Jean King Cup runners-up, had a demoralizing start to the Finals by losing 2-1 to Slovenia in their opening Group B match in Seville on Tuesday.

Kaja Juvan from Slovenia won the first set with a score of 6-4 and the second set with a score of 6-1, defeating the rusty Ajla Tomljanovic.

Former French Open semi-finalist Tamara Zidansek then triumphed over Daria Saville with scores of 6-1 and 6-4, securing an unassailable lead for Slovenia.

Zidansek expressed her happiness for the win, stating, “It’s really special to share this moment with the team. I’m really, really happy with how composed Kaja and I stayed on the court today. We both showed a great level.”

Despite an effort by the Australian pairing of Storm Hunter and Kimberly Birrell to win the doubles rubber against Veronika Erjavec and Ela Milic, they faced an uphill battle in the group.

Alicia Molik, the Australia captain, characterized the upcoming clash with Kazakhstan as “do-or-die,” with everything on the line.

The 12 qualifying nations are in four sections of three, and the group winners will advance to the semi-finals.

The day’s second group match saw reigning champions Switzerland trailing the Czech Republic after a commendable performance by teenager Linda Noskova. Viktorija Golubic was up against Maria Bouzkova in the second singles.

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