Fernández guides Canada to BJK Cup final; will face Italy

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — Leylah Fernández led Canada to the final of the Billie Jean King Cup, beating Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday and helping Canada to a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the deciding match of the double.

Fernandez, 20, beat Vondrousova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 as the Canadians leveled the series after Barbora Krejcikova beat Marina Stakusic 6-2, 6-1 to give them an early lead over the Czechs .

Immediately after her match, Fernández returned to the indoor hard court in Seville, to team up with Gabriela Dabrowski and defeat Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 7-6 (3).

In Sunday's final, Canada will face Italy, who reached their first tournament final in a decade on Saturday by beating Slovenia 2-0 with victories in both individual duels.

Martina Trevisan beat Kaja Juvan 7-6, 6-3 in the first individual series, breaking her rival's serve three times. Jasmine Paolini gave the Italians a 2-0 lead by beating Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Italy, who have won the tournament four times, last reached the final in 2013.

“What they did is incredible,” admitted Italian captain Tathiana Garbin. “We always want to push our limits and we still want to dream of tomorrow.”

Juvan double-faulted on set point in the tiebreaker and allowed Trevisan to take the lead.

The Italian started crying at one point because of the pressure.

“I should have been happy because I won the set, but I was crying,” she admitted. “A lot of emotions to deal with. But the heart and the head were there, so I’m happy.

Zidansek's serve also betrayed her in the second game when the Slovenian double-faulted to drop her serve and lost 5-3.

Slovenia reached the semi-final for the first time in the tournament.

Eugenia Tenny

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