Kuzmova anchors Slovakia to Group C victory over USA

If there were a Hero of the Day award handed out at the close of play on Tuesday at the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals, then Viktoria Kuzmova would have undoubtedly received it. 

The 23-year-old Kuzmova enjoyed a productive evening, successfully pulling off double duty to help guide Slovakia to an impressive 2-1 upset of 18-time champions USA.

Ranked No. 175 in singles and No. 59 in doubles, Kuzmova first put Slovakia in front with a straight-sets win over world No. 42 Shelby Rogers. 

She then returned to the court a while later alongside Tereza Mihalikova to squeeze past CoCo Vandeweghe and Caroline Dolehide in a nail-biting doubles showdown that saw the Slovakians squander a set and a break lead, and save match point in the deciding breaker en route to a 6-2 6-7(5) [12-10] triumph that secured the tie for the 2002 champions. 

“I think for a small country like Slovakia, it’s a really big result to beat USA in a competition like this, so I’m really proud for my girls and I’m really happy,” said Slovakia team captain Matej Liptak. 

“I think we were close yesterday too [against Spain], but I think that match yesterday helped my girls win today. They were really fighting for every ball. I’m happy that we did it.”

Slovakia fell to Spain 1-2 in their opening tie on Monday, and their narrow victory over USA leaves them with a 1-1 record in Group C with 50 of their matches won, 50 per cent of sets won and 49 per cent of games won. The winner of Group C will now be decided on Wednesday as USA enter a must-win tie against the Spaniards. 

“These girls are going to take care of their bodies tonight and hydrate and get to bed and rest and we’ll stay up and we’ll put some game plans together and prepare,” USA team captain Kathy Rinaldi said. 

“We’ll get these girls out on the practice court, they’re hungry to play, I think they’ll be even more determined to come out here and to play. It’s still anyone’s ballgame, so we’re still in it.”

A stunner from Kuzmova

Kicking off the tie, Kuzmova claimed her first top-50 win since October 2019 with a 6-4 6-4 upset of Rogers, to make it two singles victories in as many days in Prague this week. 

Kuzmova, who was ranked as high as No. 43 in the world two years ago, overcame Carla Suarez Navarro on opening day in Slovakia’s 2-1 defeat to Spain. 

The 23-year-old from Kosice has now triumphed in seven of the eight Billie Jean King Cup singles matches she has contested.

“I feel great. I love to play for Slovakia, it gives me so much more strength than any other tournament. So I’m really, really happy that I’m doing this,” said Kuzmova. 

Rogers received a last-minute call-up to the USA squad when Jessica Pegula was forced to withdraw. The 29-year-old was making her first Billie Jean King Cup appearance since she won the decisive doubles alongside Vandeweghe in USA’s 3-2 win over Belarus in the 2017 final. 

The American power-hitter made her Top-40 debut in the world rankings earlier this year and has had a strong 2021 campaign in which she claimed six Top-20 victories – including one over world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty – and reached the second week at two of the four Grand Slams. 

Time to reset

Rogers rued her missed opportunities against Kuzmova, and said her opponent had a strong serving day. 

She did not sound discouraged though and plans on following the advice of fictional character ‘Ted Lasso’, whose football coaching philosophy in a TV series carrying his name is to “be a goldfish” – meaning having a short-term memory that makes it easy to forget having a bad a day on the pitch, or in Rogers’ case, on the court. 

Rogers could potentially be enlisted in singles again on Wednesday in USA’s evening tie against Spain and she hopes to reset her mindset right away and put Tuesday’s loss behind her. 

“It’s definitely not easy because it is so different from what we’re used to (on tour, where you exit the tournament after a defeat), but my team makes it easy, they support me, they come in, ‘it’s okay, let’s keep going’, and I give it right back and support them,” said Rogers. 

“They lift me up and I lift them up and it works. So I’m thankful for them for sure but it’s definitely a tough transition and a big change.”

Collins to the rescue

The Americans’ early deficit did not last long as world No. 30 Danielle Collins notched the second singles victory of her Billie Jean King Cup career with a commanding 6-3 6-2 victory over Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in a mere 67 minutes. 

Collins, a two-time titlist on tour this year, broke serve three times and faced zero break points on her own serve in what was a clinical performance from the 27-year-old Floridian. 

She is playing just her second ever tie in the competition and has the privilege of being her side’s number one player in Prague this week. 

“I think all of the American women, we have so much depth, that’s an incredible thing when we’re making the team for this competition, because there’s just so many great players across the board,” said Collins. “When Shelby was put in, it was like, ‘okay, we have another great player, ready to go’. 

“I think to be playing number one is pretty special, but I would play two, three, four, whatever, if that was the case. Just try to be the most contributing team member I can be and support everyone and hopefully we have some fun along the way.”