Czech Republic beat Ukraine to win BJK Cup
Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova delivered a first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2018 for the Czech Republic with victories over Ukraine in the final in Shenzhen on Sunday.
The top-10 duo made history for their nation earlier this year when they squared off in an unprecedented all-Czech final at Wimbledon and have now added to their growing list of achievements by clinching the Czech Republic's 12th BJK Cup trophy.
Noskova sealed the 2-0 victory with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win over world number seven Elina Svitolina after Muchova had put the Czechs in front with a 6-2, 6-3 rout of Anhelina Kalinina.
"It's very special, a dream of mine to lift the trophy," said the 30-year-old Muchova.
"To do it with these girls sitting here, it's a pleasure. I'm just so proud of us, how we managed the whole week, how we fought, how we practised the whole week, how we just have the vibe in the locker. It was such a nice time. To win it is like a cherry on the top."
Czech captain Barbora Strycova is a six-time champion and was a player on the team that beat the USA in the final in 2018.
She has become just the fourth woman to win the BJK Cup as both a player and a captain –- joining Margaret Court, Chris Evert and King herself.
"To win it as a player and now win it as a captain of such an incredible group of players and be sitting there on the bench in the different position, it means so much," said Strycova.
"To be honest, it was my dream which I didn't say out loud. But yeah, it happened. It feels surreal but it's very real. I am very honoured."
In the opening singles of the tie, Muchova fired eight aces, dropped a mere total of seven points on serve, and faced zero break points throughout the 70-minute encounter to hand Kalinina her first defeat of the week.
- Ukraine proud in defeat -
Next up, in a battle between two top-10 players, Svitolina struck first, breaking for a 3-1 advantage with some brilliant all-court coverage, but Noskova responded immediately, unleashing some punishing returns to take the next five games and claim a one-set lead in 44 minutes.
The pair were neck and neck in the second set and it took a well-timed drop shot from Noskova to carve a 6-3 gap in the tiebreak.
Svitolina aced to save the first match point and Noskova missed a backhand on the second but the Czech was third time lucky as she wrapped up the win in 95 minutes.
"Elina, she's a great player, so she definitely put up a fight. But I'm glad I rode it home," said Noskova, the reigning Wimbledon champion.
Ukraine were competing in their first-ever BJK Cup final after they knocked out two-time defending champions Italy in the previous round.
"Was not an easy day for us, but I'm really proud of the team, all the effort that we've put in this year," said Svitolina, whose foundation has been funding and managing the Ukrainian national tennis team.
"Went one step closer to being the champions here, but not this year. We are really motivated for next year to come and do better."
Ukraine captain Illya Marchenko added: "Our team is becoming stronger and stronger every year. Last year was a historic achievement for us to make the semi-finals. This year it was kind of normal. Now it's another historic achievement; we played the final.
"We look to the future with a lot of optimism.
"Of course, for Ukraine it's very important. Right now we see a lot of struggles in our home country with attacks, with drones, with rockets, and everything. These moments of joy are very important for Ukrainian spectators. We are really happy that we could bring some joy into Ukraine this week."