'That was for Niki': Czechs roar into semis despite Bartunkova absence
Top seeds Czech Republic surged into the last four of the Junior Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals after dispatching Mexico in a one-sided quarter-final despite the absence of their No. 1 player Nikola Bartunkova.
Prague-born Bartunkova was feeling under the weather and back at the hotel as her teammates, Brenda Fruhvirtova and Sara Bejlek, made light work of their Mexican counterparts and claimed successive singles victories.
Fruhvirtova defeated Karen Verduzco 6-0 6-0 before Bejlek triumphed 6-1 6-1 against Natalia Fantini, with Germany, who defeated Morocco, the only obstacle now standing between them and a place in the final.
Fourteen-year-old Fruhvirtova, who was part of Czech Republic’s victorious team at the 2019 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov, was keen to dedicate the victory to the stricken Bartunkova as her recovery continues.
“We did it for Nikola today,” Fruhvirtova told itftennis.com. “Already this year, Sara was a little bit sick at qualifying and then another time I was sick, so we try to cover and do our best.
“If one girl is not available and there are only three girls, it is not easy as anything can happen in matches. It is a difficult situation, but we won pretty comfortably today and hopefully Niki will be available for tomorrow.”
Czech Republic are now just one victory away from a shot at glory and the chance to win this competition for the fifth time in their history, a feat they have not achieved since 2015 when Olympic silver medallist Marketa Vondrousova was in their side.
“We take this tournament very seriously,” said Fruhvirtova, who is ranked No. 24 in the junior world rankings after a season which has brought three titles, most recently at J1 Charleroi-Marcinelle last week.
“It is great to be in the semi-finals and great that we have had some comfortable matches so we can save some energy for tomorrow. We are very much looking forward to tomorrow and competing in the last four. We want to win and we will give 100 per cent.”
Like Czech Republic, their semi-finals opponents Germany arrived at the knockout stage of the competition boasting a 100 per cent record from their three group matches following victories over Canada, Hungary and Turkey.
Their winning streak was maintained but they were made to work for their latest scalp by trailblazers Morocco, who are guaranteed a top-eight finish at the tournament for the first time in their history.
Both of their singles matches went to three sets but, ultimately, Germany progressed as Marie Vogt and Ella Seidel held their nerve in the decisive set to overpower Malak El Allami and Aya El Aouni respectively.
Tomorrow’s other semi will feature Russia and Japan – teams which experienced vastly different quarter-finals. No. 2 seeds Russia were convincing winners against Canada and chalked up a 3-0 success.
Elena Pridankina and Anastasiia Gureva prevailed in the singles, defeating Martyna Ostrzgalo and Victoria Mboko respectively, before Yaroslava Bartashevich and Pridankina joined forces to great effect in the doubles.
Japan, on the other hand, endured a more gruelling last-eight tussle, with doubles pairing Sayaka Ishii and Sara Saito hauling them across the line with victory over Lucciana Perez and Daniela Rubio. Ena Koike and Perez had earlier posted singles wins for their nations.
In the positional play-offs, meanwhile, there were wins for Romania, hosts Turkey, Hungary and Thailand against Argentina, Hong Kong, Chile and Egypt respectively.
Junior Billie Jean King Cup Finals semi-final draw:
Czech Republic v Germany
Japan v Russia