Teenager Mika Stojsavljevic and Harriet Dart put a depleted Great Britain one win away from sealing a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals over Australia in Melbourne.
Stojsavljevic, currently ranked 275th in the world, stunned world No 65 Talia Gibson 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 on her Billie Jean King Cup debut in Melbourne.
The 17-year-old was a 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 winner as she overturned a difference of 219 places in the WTA rankings.
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Brit Mika Stojsavljevic won the girls’ US Open at Flushing Meadows in 2024
The 2024 US Open junior champion gave Great Britain a perfect start in the qualifiers as Anne Keothavong’s side look to progress in the absence of Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Katie Boulter and Fran Jones.
Stojsavljevic went 3-1 ahead early on but needed a tie-break to take the opening set and successfully defended five break points before closing out a see-saw second which included five breaks of serve.
“It feels amazing. I can’t believe it. I can’t even remember the last point,” Stojsavljevic said. “I had amazing support from the side and managed to get through.
“Going into it, I knew she’d have the home ground. I’m grateful to the people supporting GB today.
“It was a good match. We have very similar games, both quite aggressive, so I’m happy I got through it.”
Harriet Dart then battled back to defeat Kiimberly Birrell 4-6 6-3 6-3 to hand Britain a 2-0 lead and put Anne Keothavong’s side in control at the end of day one.
Saturday at the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers
- Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez vs Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart
- Talia Gibson vs Harriet Dart
- Kimberly Birrell vs Mika Stojsavljevic
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