Sports News | Czech Republic Beats Defending Champion Switzerland in Group Stage of BJK Cup Finals in Spain

Seville (Spain), Nov 8 (AP) The Czech Republic beat defending champion Switzerland 3-0 on the first day of the group stage at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on Tuesday.

Debutant Linda Noskova defeated Celine Naef 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 in the first singles match, and another debutant Marie Bouzkova beat Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-4 in the second match of the Group A tie. The third point came with Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova defeating Golubic and Jil Teichmann 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the doubles match.

Also Read | ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Semifinals Schedule, Who Plays Who? Match Timings in IST, Venues and Teams for Semis 1 and 2.

Bouzkova was a late addition to the Czech team following the withdrawal of world No. 8 Karolina Muchova because of a wrist injury.

Switzerland was without Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, who announced on Friday that she is pregnant.

Also Read | Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023: A Look at Performances of Indian International Stars in the Domestic T20 Competition.

The United States is the other team in Group A and will face Switzerland on Thursday.

In Group B, Slovenia defeated last year's runner-up Australia 2-1 after Kaja Juvan defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-1 and Tamara Zidansek beat Daria Saville 6-1, 6-4.

Australia's point came when Kimberly Birrell and Storm Hunter beat Veronika Erjavec and Ela Nala Milic 7-5, 6-7 (2), 10-5 in the doubles match.

The 12-team BJK Cup Finals is being played at La Cartuja Stadium in the southern Spanish city of Seville. It will run through Sunday offering a record total of $9.6 million in prize money, including $2.4 million to the champions.

The teams compete in four round-robin groups and the winners will advance to the semifinals.

The biggest team competition in women's tennis is starting two days after the end of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, which featured the top eight players on the tour — including winner Iga Swiatek. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)