Billie Jean King Cup: Great Britain not overawed by United States semi-final tie

Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong is not daunted by the prospect of taking on 18-time winners the United States in the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.

Britain breezed through a quarter-final tie against Japan without dropping a set on Thursday, as Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter won their singles matches against Ena Shibahara and Moyuka Uchijima respectively.

USA had taken to the court in Shenzhen earlier the same day and claimed a hard-fought victory over Kazakhstan in a deciding doubles clash.

American players Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Hailey Baptiste and McCartney Kessler are all ranked higher in singles than any of the British team while Taylor Townsend is the WTA’s number one doubles player.

But Keothavong, whose selection options also include Fran Jones and Jodie Burrage, is confident her team can compete.

“Yes, they’ve got options. We’ve got options too,” Keothavong said.

“They’re a strong team, but we’re also a strong team. We’re a united team.

“Was I watching them earlier? Absolutely. Pretty much most of the team were watching. We had it on in the background and we were following the match.

“Certainly the first match was really tight. That tie could have gone the other way.”

The USA have lifted the Billie Jean King Cup a record 18 times, whereas Great Britain have the unfortunate record of reaching the most finals without ever enjoying success.

However, the last of those four final appearances was back in 1981 and Keothavong, who has led the team to a third semi-final in four years, is determined to end the drought.

Keothavong continued: “It’s going to be tough, whoever they put out. But it’s another opportunity for us. Semi-finals again.

“We’ve shown how consistent we’ve been in recent years in this competition and we’re here for more. We’re just going to go after it.

“I think there’s always going to be unfinished business in this competition for us – certainly I feel that as captain – until we one day lift the trophy.”

The American team are captained by Lindsay Davenport, who said after their defeat of Kazakhstan: “We didn’t come here just to get to the semis.

“This is the first step in what we knew was going to be a tough week.

“We’re excited to get back out there on Saturday.”