RTF rally from behind to beat France to semi-final berth

A roaring celebration, double high-fives all around and some dance moves to go along with it, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova let her emotions take over after she finally outlasted a stubborn Alize Cornet to secure Russian Tennis Federation’s place in the semi-finals in Prague. 

France’s Billie Jean King Cup title defence came to an end on Wednesday as they were unable to claim the 3-0 win they needed over the Russians in their hotly-contested Group A tie. 

Clara Burel had put the French in front with victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova – a surprise replacement for Daria Kasatkina – earlier in the day but Pavlyuchenkova’s 5-7 6-4 6-2 success against Cornet levelled the tie for RTF and locked down their position at the top of the group. 

The Russians completed a 2-1 victory in the tie when Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova eased to a 6-2 6-1 result over Cornet and Burel. 

“I’m so, so happy and so proud of myself because I think it was an incredible match, not only tennis, I think it was very good tennis, but more importantly, I think it was an amazing fighting spirit from both of us,” said Pavlyuchenkova, who saved six of 10 break points and fired 34 winners against her French opponent. 

“We were like two tigers, nobody wanted to give to each other anything and I think that’s what matters, that’s the point of the sport we’re playing. 

“Win or lose, I would be disappointed if I lost but I would still be proud and happy. There’s a bonus I won, I believe we go to semis, that’s what the little dance was about. Also I kept so many emotions inside, so I just wanted to let it go.”

Nastia’s magical year

Pavlyuchenkova’s standout season continues to roll on after she reached a maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros and clinched Olympic gold alongside Andrey Rublev in mixed doubles at Tokyo 2020. The world No. 12 has one last item to cross off her bucket list for the year, which is to help RTF lift a fifth Billie Jean King Cup. 

The 30-year-old is currently on a five-match winning streak in the competition and she’s bidding to win the Cup for the first time after losing both finals she previously contested. 

“I think in the first set I was thinking too much on why I missed this ball, where I have to play, what was wrong. Then second and the third I just said to myself, ‘just play every point, doesn’t matter how, I want to win’. Third set I said to myself, ‘I’m going to die on the court but I will not lose this match’, so I think that was the key,” explained Pavlyuchenkova. 

Lots to be proud of

France captain Julien Benneteau paid tribute to his players and how they left their hearts on the court. The French side suffered losses to Canada and RTF and Benneteau did not enlist Caroline Garcia in either tie. 

“We are disappointed tonight because we are out of the competition but today I’m proud about my two players on my side. They both played two great matches. Clara, for her first singles match in the Billie Jean King Cup, she beat a very, very good player, she found the solutions to come back after one set down and to be able to win like this is very, very good.

“And Alize against Pavlyuchenkova, it was one of the best matches I’ve seen this year. The level of the match was incredible. Anastasia was playing and serving so well at certain moments but otherwise Alize fought until the end. I knew she would have done that and that’s why I put her on the court. 

“I was impressed by the way she played today, the heart she gave on the court, and during this week she was an example for the rest of the team.”

A debut to remember

The 77th-ranked Burel made her competition debut this week and opened her singles account with a precious 3-6 6-4 6-3 win over world No. 32 Alexandrova, who came to Prague fresh off of a runner-up showing at a WTA event in Moscow. 

The 20-year-old from Rennes earned her first Billie Jean King Cup nomination back in 2018, but ultimately did not participate in the tie against Belgium. Burel was put through some traditional rookie hazing by her team-mates though that weekend and she recalls it was quite the experience. 

“After I gave the speech, I had to sing a song during the team dinner, and that was maybe embarrassing,” said Burel with a laugh, remembering her rendition of ‘J’irai au bout de mes rêves’ (‘I’ll follow my dreams until the end’). 

There was no hazing for Burel for her second career selection for the French team this week in the Czech capital, and instead, her focus has been solely on tennis. She lost her debut clash in doubles alongside Cornet against the Canadian team on day one before triumphing in singles against RTF’s Alexandrova on Wednesday. 

“I was just really excited to play for the team, for my country, I just wanted to win so badly to stay alive in this competition,” said Burel. 

The match against Alexandrova witnessed a combined 17 breaks of serve but it was Burel who caught some momentum halfway through, going on a six-game winning streak from the end of the second set through the start of the third to establish a 4-0 lead. 

Alexandrova halved her deficit but a costly double fault gifted Burel the victory on her sixth match point, as France moved up 1-0 in the tie to keep their chances alive in Group A. 

“I was lucky enough that Clara won before me so that I played for something, that was really great,” Cornet said after her loss to Pavlyuchenkova. 

“We couldn’t defend the title, so it’s a disappointment but this Russian team is very good and I’m pretty curious to see how they’re going to play in the next matches. 

“I know it was a great tennis match but I hoped that Pavlyuchenkova would maybe have a little weakness at one point, but she didn’t, so it’s credit to her. 

“I enjoyed a lot playing this match. Although I lost, I gave everything I had and my team was so supportive, it was amazing. I had goosebumps almost the whole match with their support, their clapping and their screaming, it was amazing and I was sad not to bring that point because it was a decisive point.”