Australia 0-1 Slovenia: Juvan fires Finals debutants into lead
Tamara Zidansek defeated Australia’s Daria Saville to fire Slovenia into an unassailable 2-0 lead and secure an opening-day victory for her nation at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals in Seville.
Postojna-born Zidansek overpowered Saville 6-1 6-4 to build on Kaja Juvan’s 6-4 6-1 win against Ajla Tomljanovic in the opening singles match of the tie as Slovenia posted their maiden victory at a Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Slovenian duo Zidansek, who reached the Roland Garros semi-finals in 2021, and Juvan are in prime Billie Jean King Cup form, with the former having won six of her last eight matches in the competition across singles and doubles.
Juvan, meanwhile, has won 10 of the last 11 Billie Jean King Cup matches she has contested – and 12 of the 18 in total during a national team career which began in 2017.
The final match of the tie will see Kimberly Birrell and Storm Hunter take on Veronika Erjavec and Ela Milic in the doubles and, while last year’s beaten finalists Australia have lost this one, a doubles victory may yet prove significant.
Slovenia’s final Group B tie is against Kazakhstan on Friday, while Australia face the Kazakhs on Thursday, with any match-win potentially crucial in the final reckoning as nations between for a place in the semi-finals.
