Katie Boulter, left, of Britain, shakes hands after defeating Canada's Leylah Fernandez, right, in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals at Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Nov. 17.Manu Fernandez/The Associated Press
Defending champion Canada fell 2-0 to Britain in a quarter-final tie at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals women’s tennis tournament on Sunday.
Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino dropped the first singles match 6-0, 7-5 to Emma Raducanu. Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., lost 6-2, 6-4 to Katie Boulter in the second match.
Marino had five aces to zero double faults and won 59 per cent of her first-serve points. However, she failed to capitalize on any of her seven break point opportunities.
Fernandez had two aces to nine double faults and won 64 per cent of her first-serve points. She broke on two of her five chances, but saw Boulter break on five of her nine opportunities.
Canada got a bye into the quarter-finals as the defending champions before having to face Britain.
Four-time finalist Britain is yet to win the title. Canada clinched its first title last year.
Britain will face Slovakia, which defeated Australia 2-0, in the semi-finals.
Slovakia followed up its win over the United States with a 2-0 victory against Australia to reach the last four.
Rebecca Sramkova cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ajla Tomljanovic to clinch Slovakia the victory after Viktoria Hruncakova rallied to defeat Kimberly Birrell 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3 for her sixth straight BJK Cup win counting singles and doubles.
Slovakia had beaten the U.S. – the competition’s most successful nation – in the first round of the finals in Malaga.
Iga Swiatek’s Poland, seeking its first title, will face Italy in the other semi-final.
Italy lost last year’s final to Canada.