Canada Defeats Spain, Italy Victorious over France in BJK Cup

Canada’s Marina Stakusic celebrates beating Spain’s Rebeka Masarova on the way to her country winning the opening Group C tie

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Canada and Italy both secured wins in the Billie Jean King Cup finals, with Canada emerging victorious against hosts Spain and Italy defeating France.

In Group C, Canada started strongly with a 3-0 win against Spain. Canadian rookie Marina Stakusic, ranked 258th in the world, demonstrated exceptional skills as she defeated Rebeka Masarova 6-3, 6-1. Leylah Fernandez then sealed the tie by triumphing over Sara Sorribes 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (9/7). Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski completed the sweep with a doubles win.

Stakusic expressed her delight, considering it her best victory to date, and credited the cheering Canadian and Spanish fans for motivating her. Masarova struggled with 33 unforced errors during the match.

In Group D, Italy secured a 2-1 win over France. Jasmine Paolini won a thrilling battle against Caroline Garcia, emerging victorious with a score of 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 6-4. Martina Trevisan also came back strongly from a set down to defeat Alize Cornet 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. However, France managed to salvage a point in the doubles match, with Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic winning 5-7, 6-2, 10-6 against Trevisan and Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

Italy has now won five of the last seven meetings against France, solidifying its position as a four-time winner in the tournament. Trevisan expressed her happiness in contributing to her team’s victory, emphasizing her pride in playing for Italy. Cornet mentioned feeling unwell during the second set, attributing her performance drop to dizziness.

On Thursday, Canada will face Poland, while Italy will go up against Germany in their respective matches.