Emma Raducanu made a triumphant return to action as Great Britain cruised through to the quarter-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.
The 22-year-old looked sharp on her comeback from her latest injury setback, defeating Germany’s Jule Niemeier 6-4 6-4 at Malaga’s Palacio de Deportes.
That gave Katie Boulter the chance to clinch victory and she wasted no time in wrapping up a 6-1 6-2 win against Laura Siegemund, sending Britain through to a meeting with defending champions Canada on Sunday.
Raducanu served an impressive 10 aces in her victory, although there were also seven double faults and she needed six match points to get across the line.
The former US Open champion, who turned 22 on Wednesday, was serenaded afterwards by the crowd singing happy birthday, and she relished the opportunity to make her comeback in a team environment.
“I think it’s a great way to come back, even though there is some pressure to score a point for your team,” she said. “You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for everyone.
“As an individual athlete, it’s not like a tour event. So I think having your team members on the side cheering you on when you might be a little bit nervous, and having the ability to use on-court coaching and getting feedback is very helpful when you haven’t played for a long time.
“But today I think I wasn’t very reliant on any information. I think I played pretty well and had things under control, just the right information at the right time.”
Having been scheduled as the final match of the opening round at the Finals week, Britain then had to wait another hour and 25 minutes longer than planned as Poland completed victory over Spain.
That tie had been due to be played on Wednesday but was postponed because of the storm that hit Malaga earlier this week, causing flooding around the 3,564-seat temporary arena where the women’s tournament is being held.
A near four-hour match between Magda Linette and Sara Sorribes Tormo was followed by a three-set battle between Iga Swiatek and Paula Badosa, which the world number two won to send Poland through to a quarter-final against the Czech Republic.
Raducanu’s name elicited the biggest cheer from the heavily British crowd when the teams finally walked onto court, with the British number two bidding to build on her heroics in the qualifiers in April, when she won both her matches away against France on clay to seal an upset victory.
But her preparation was limited by a foot injury sustained in September, and this was her first competitive outing for nearly two months.
She had the advantage on ranking over Niemeier, a powerful 25-year-old who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals two years ago, sitting at 58 compared to her opponent’s 92.
And it was Raducanu who made the first move, a fiercely struck forehand return earning her a break at 3-3. She then saved five break points in the next game to hold onto her lead, helped by four aces.
Raducanu looked in complete control at 5-2 in the second set but showed a few signs of rust trying to serve it out, double-faulting on her first match point and seeing three more come and go on Niemeier’s serve before finally clinching her sixth opportunity.
“I have been in that situation before,” said Raducanu. “It’s not the first time I have been serving for it, had match points, and then got broken and had to kind of fight my way back into the match, and it’s not going to be the last time that happens either.
“I actually enjoy those moments as much as it’s possible to. I’m proud with how I regrouped, because it’s not easy.”
That set the stage for British number one Boulter, who arrived in Spain full of confidence after finishing her season with two strong tournaments in Asia and climbing into the world’s top 25 for the first time.
She dropped serve in the opening game but raced through the rest of the first set and maintained her momentum in the second, wrapping up victory in just 70 minutes.
“I’m really happy with the way I played,” said Boulter. “I kept my focus the whole time. Obviously I’m supposed to win that on paper, but you never know what’s going to happen. So I never take that for granted.
“You’ve got to try and win every single point and stay on top as much as possible and not really give her an in, because those kinds of players can come back if you drop your level for a game or two.”