Tennis

Billie Jean King Cup play-offs 2030 Great Britain 'can't underestimate' Sweden..By Emily Salley, BBC Sport.

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Dart (third from right), Boulter (second from right) and Watson (right) have played a combined total of 56 ties in the Billie Jean King Cup, while Lumsden (left) and Burrage (second left) have received their first call-up

Captain Anne Keothavong says Great Britain cannot underestimate Sweden in the Billie Jean King Cup play-offs despite being the heavy favourites.

Britain are absent from the ongoing Finals in Seville following their 3-1 loss to France in April's qualifiers.

They will face Sweden at London's Copper Box Arena in a best-of-five series across Saturday and Sunday.

The winner will progress to next year's qualifiers, while the loser will drop into lower tier regional events.

"I feel like it's the first time in a long time we go into this tie as favourites, but this competition can mess with people's heads and people deal with pressure in different ways, " Keothavong told BBC Sport.

"This time next year, I'd love for us to be competing in the Finals again and I don't see any reason why we can't get there, but we have to take the steps required. We can't be complacent."

Keothavong has selected the four highest ranked British singles players - Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart and Heather Watson - along with doubles number one Maia Lumsden.

Britain are ranked 14 places higher than the Swedish team, whose chances of of promotion to the top tier of the team event have been dented by injuries to their two highest-ranked players - world number 103 Rebecca Peterson and Mirjam Bjorklund, ranked 163rd.

Johanna Larsson's side will be represented by four players who are all ranked outside the world's top 350 - Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, Caijsa Hennemann, Lisa Zaar, and Bella Bergkvist Larsson.

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Lumsden is also Britain's number one doubles player, ranked 74th in the world in doubles

Boulter became Emma Raducanu's successor as British number one in May, with 2021 US Open champion Raducanu missing the majority of the season through injury.

Having claimed her first WTA Tour title at Nottingham in June and reaching the third round at both Wimbledon and the US Open, Boulter achieved a career-high ranking of 50 in September and Keothavong says she "thrives" as British number one.

Burrage, too, has enjoyed a career-best season and would have enjoyed a spell as British number one had she defeated Boulter in the final of the Nottingham Open - her maiden WTA final.

Lumsden - "the quietest member on the team", according to Keothavong - has made her mark in doubles.

In July, the 25-year-old Scot and Naiktha Bains became the first British women's doubles pair to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon since 1983.

While Burrage and Lumsden could make their Billie Jean King Cup debuts, "stalwart" Heather Watson could play her 36th tie in the women's team event.

Keothavong said last year's run to the semi-finals showed the experienced Watson and Dart, who won her first ITF-level title since 2018 this year, are able to "rise to the occasion when needed".

Despite the tournament arriving at the end of a long season, Keothavong is not worried about her team's motivation levels.

"It's no hardship for them to put their team colours on and go out there and play and work together and enjoy each other's company," she said.

"The fact that we have this opportunity to play on home soil in front of pretty much near sell-out crowd - if that doesn't get you going then I'm not sure what else does."

British tennis' governing body the LTA is expecting a full house with Saturday's 5,560 tickets sold out, while there are only a limited number of tickets available for Sunday's action.

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Great Britain secured promotion to the world tier of the Billie Jean King Cup at the Copper Box in 2019

The Copper Box Arena is a venue that holds fond memories for the British side.

It is where they ended a 26-year wait for promotion to the world tier of the Billie Jean King Cup with a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan in 2019.

And for Keothavong, captaining her side at the Copper Box Arena is particularly "special" having grown up in Hackney nearby.

"It's hard to really articulate or explain that to others who didn't grow up in this area knowing what this place looked like as a kid and how it's transformed," the 40-year-old said.

"To be able to bring tennis, live tennis, high quality women's tennis to this part of London is just something as a child I could have only dreamt of."

Former British number one Keothavong is determined not to slip back into the lower regional tier, especially after Great Britain reached the last four of the Finals in Glasgow last year.

"What we did in Glasgow last year certainly put everyone on the radar as a team," she said.

"The team spirit, the way we gelled, the way the players were able to rise to the occasion I think stood out and surprised a lot of people, so expectations are high.

"We know we can compete with the very best. We've just got to take the steps to get there again."

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Britain's tie with Sweden is one of eight play-off ties taking place, with the winners advancing to the qualifying round for the 2024 Finals and the losers dropping into the regional Group I stage - the level below the top world tier of the competition.

Each play-off tie is a best-of-five series - with four singles matches followed by a deciding doubles match if needed.

How to watch the Billie Jean King Cup play-offs
All of Great Britain's matches against Sweden will be streamed on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website from 14:00 GMT on Saturday and 12:00 GMT on Sunday.

Sofia Open 2023 results: Jack Draper into first ATP Tour final..

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Jack Draper, who has won five Challenger titles, now has the chance of a first ATP Tour-level title

Britain's Jack Draper reached his first ATP Tour final by beating Jan-Lennard Struff at the Sofia Open and extending his winning streak to nine matches.

The 21-year-old, who won last week's ATP Challenger Tour event in Bergamo, Italy, won 6-3 6-4 against the German.

Draper will face French 2nd seed Adrian Mannarino in Saturday's final in Bulgaria.

He is the youngest British man to reach a tour final since Andy Murray, at the same age, in Miami 14 years ago.

"Obviously I am very proud," Draper said. "Andy is an amazing player. I hope one day I can do what he's done in the sport but it's a long way to go and I'll keep trying."

Draper has been building momentum in recent weeks in what has been a promising season that has included reaching the last 16 of the US Open in September.

He had already knocked out top seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the last 16 in Sofia, before another composed performance against third seed Struff to reach the final without dropping a set.

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The Briton recovered immediately from an early break to string together back-to-back breaks that sent him on his way to taking the opening set.

He was similarly under pressure at the start of the second set but fended off five break points in his first two service games to stay level with his opponent until he created the key break in the seventh game to pull clear. He served out the win three games later, sealing it on his third match point.

"I think I've got to just try and keep the rhythm," Draper said. "It was tough out here with some tense moments. It was a semi-final to get into my first final so I was nervous, but I came through it well."

He will take on experienced world number 25 Mannarino, who beat Russian Pavel Kotov 6-2 (7-6) 7-2, on Saturday (13:00 GMT).

Draper's season had been disrupted by injury but he has come back from a shoulder problem to demonstrate his exciting potential, with his good form also coming at a perfect time for Great Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final later this month.

He is in the squad for the tie against Serbia in Spain on 23rd November, which is being shown live on BBC Sport.

Billie Jean King Cup: Late replacement Harriet Dart wins to give GB play-off victory..By Emily Salley, BBC Sport at Copper Box Arena.

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Late replacement Harriet Dart beat Caijsa Hennemann to seal a 3-1 win for Great Britain against Sweden in their Billie Jean King Cup play-off.

Dart - picked instead of Jodie Burrage, whose debut was ruined by nerves on Saturday - thrived on the added pressure to win 7-5 6-2 in London.

Captain Anne Keothavong said she had "no hesitation" in calling up Dart, who "was able to rise to the challenge".

Earlier, Katie Boulter had put GB, the overwhelming favourites, 2-1 up.

The British number one was a 6-1 7-6 (7-5) winner against Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, who had stunned Burrage the previous day.

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There were scenes of jubilation at the Copper Box Arena as Hennemann fired wide on Dart's match point to give Great Britain a victory which seals their place in the qualifying round for the 2024 Finals.

London-born Dart said it was "extra special" to win the tie on home soil.

Meanwhile, Sweden, who were vying for promotion from the European/African zone, will remain in the lower tier of the women's team event.

Having watched the first set of Boulter's win, Dart knew she could be the one to seal the deal for Great Britain after coming in for Burrage.

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Burrage had let slip a 4-0 lead and lost 11 out of the next 12 games to Rinaldo Persson in the opening singles match of a tie that Great Britain - with much higher ranked players - had been expected to win comfortably.

"Jodie played yesterday and it's hard not to feel for her, but it happens. It's happened to all of us where the occasion gets the better of you," Keothavong told a news conference.

"For me, I feel like I'm a little bit spoiled because we've got choices on this team and I had no hesitation in calling up Harriet to play today knowing how she has been able to perform in this situation."

Dart claimed the first break to go 4-3 up, but the Copper Box fell silent as Hennemann broke back immediately, stopping the British number three from serving out for the opening set.

However, the 22-year-old Swede could not find an answer when Dart replied with a break before holding serve to go a set up.

With a noisy crowd behind her, Dart was the first to draw blood in the second set and she sped through her service games until she got the double break at 4-2.

Dart, who has now played nine matches in the Billie Jean King Cup, showed her experience to secure the win with the first of her three match points.

Keothavong added that she would help Burrage to bounce back from her debut defeat.

"It's going to take time. I don't think you get over a performance like that quickly," Keothavong said.

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"For me as captain to show that kind of empathy - I've been there, I can relate to that and help her on her journey if she's to be part of this team again."

Having watched from the sidelines when Rinaldo Persson beat Burrage the previous day, Boulter knew she would face a more difficult match than their difference in rankings suggested.

"She's definitely tricky. She has some weapons which, especially on these courts, they really seem to help her," Boulter told a news conference.

"She keeps fighting, she raised her level clearly above her ranking again today and she made it very difficult for me."

Despite missing two break points in Rinaldo Persson's first service game, Boulter broke at the second opportunity for a 3-1 lead.

Rinaldo Persson put the 27-year-old under pressure in the next game but Boulter saved two break points to keep momentum on her side, before going a double break up and serving out the set.

Having exchanged breaks at the start of the second set, the Swede broke at 4-3, but she missed four set points and dropped serve while attempting to level the match.

Forcing a tie-break, Boulter held her nerve to pounce at the right moment and the partisan crowd erupted as she secured the win that put Great Britain ahead for the first time in the tie.

"You're not going to save set points without a little bit of heart, a little bit of luck, a little bit of hard work and trusting the process of what I've put in these past, many countless years and today it pulled off," Boulter said.

"Another day it might not but I'm very glad today it did and it was for my country which makes it a little bit sweeter."


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Emma Raducanu: Briton pulls out of December exhibition match..By Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent.

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Britain's Emma Raducanu has pulled out of an exhibition match in Macau at the start of December as she continues her rehabilitation from hand and foot operations.

The 2021 US Open champion - who turns 21 today - has not played since April, but is still hoping to return to the tour in January.

The exhibition in China has come too soon, however, especially as the organisers wanted time to seek out a potential replacement.

Raducanu has fallen to 289 in the world rankings, but will be able to use a protected ranking of 103 next year as she has not played for over six months.

That might be high enough for a place in the main draw of the Australian Open, but she is still likely to need a wildcard for the WTA Tour events in Brisbane and Auckland in the first week of the season.

Raducanu has been restricted to just nine matches in 2023 and in May had an operation on both of her hands and left ankle, which she injured in Auckland in the first event of the year.

The hand pain, caused by a bone very close to her wrists, had been troubling her since the end of the 2022 season.

Raducanu returned to the court to begin some very light work at the start of August, and posted a video of herself hitting some soft, oversized tennis balls to Kyle Edmund at the National Tennis Centre in London.

But progress in the first two months was slow and Raducanu took the opportunity to visit her grandmother in China. It was not until the start of October when a more structured return to tour competition began to take shape under the guidance of LTA staff at the National Tennis Centre.

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Raducanu has described her physio Will Herbert as 'the mechanic'

If Raducanu's rehab was behind schedule at this stage - and her summer months were described as a "bit of a black hole" by one observer - then genuine progress appears to have been made since.

She has been working through the different coloured tennis balls children start out with. That means beginning with a red ball, which is decompressed and has little bounce, before progressing to an orange, green and then the regular yellow ball.

There is not yet any sign of Raducanu developing a team around her which could offer stability and confidence as she returns to the tour.

Raducanu said shortly after her three operations that "circumstances made it unfeasible" for her to continue working with Sebastian Sachs, and she is still without a dedicated coach.

Her short-lived partnership with Andy Murray's former strength and conditioning coach Jez Green has also fizzled out, and she is currently using LTA staff for both fitness and physio.

Whether or not Raducanu is on the starting line for the first tournament of the new year, she says she has been "very itchy and hungry to go for quite some time now."

"I think the biggest thing from the last few months was how much I missed the sport," she told Today on BBC Radio 4 last month.

"I think that was the standout thing - how much I missed training, how much I missed my body hurting and feeling tired and dragging yourself through certain exercises when you don't feel like it."

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Davis Cup 2023: Andy Murray pulls out of GB team with shoulder injury as Liam Broady called up..

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Murray is a three-time Grand Slam winner

Andy Murray has withdrawn from Great Britain's team for the Davis Cup Finals because of a shoulder injury and has been replaced by Liam Broady.

Britain face Serbia - led by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic - in the quarter-finals on 23rd November.

"I've picked up a minor shoulder injury which means I won't be able to take part in the Davis Cup," Murray said.

"I'm gutted not to be part of the squad but my focus is now on rehab and getting ready for the new season."

Broady was due to play league tennis for a French club next week before being summoned to replace 36-year-old Murray.

"It's not the way I'd have wanted to be called up, but as always I take great pride in representing Great Britain," Broady, 29, said.

"I can't wait to help the team progress through the tournament in any way I can."

World number 102 Broady has made just one previous appearance in the competition when he played Albert Ramos-Vinolas on clay in Marbella in 2018.

Great Britain captain Leon Smith was already without Dan Evans after he recently withdrew from the team because of a calf injury.

He was replaced by Joe Salisbury, with Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper and Neal Skupski the other members of the squad.

Britain's Davis Cup ties will be shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

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Analysis..Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent.

Captain Leon Smith has lost his element of surprise and the chance to keep Serbia guessing about the make-up of the British team.

Liam Broady is the obvious addition to the squad given the risk of injury to either Jack Draper or Cameron Norrie.

But they are extremely likely to play singles and the doubles team is now locked in as neither Dan Evans nor Andy Murray are available.

I am told it is possible Murray could still be in Malaga for part of the week. It will depend on his rehab, but his presence as a tactician and motivator would be very valuable.

Murray may not have played anyway, but it will be tough for him to sit on the sidelines as we wonder whether we will ever see him in a GB Davis Cup shirt again.

ATP Finals results 2023: Novak Djokovic beats Carlos Alcaraz to set up Jannik Sinner final..

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Novak Djokovic has now beaten Carlos Alcaraz three times in four meetings this season

Novak Djokovic delivered a masterclass to beat Carlos Alcaraz in the latest instalment of their burgeoning rivalry to reach the ATP Finals showpiece.

The Serb will aim for a record seventh title on Sunday after a 6-3 6-2 win put him through to face Italian Jannik Sinner in Turin.

Sinner became the first Italian to make the season-ending final with a 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 win over Daniil Medvedev.

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Agree, As always Mr T it's all about money, just like the Champions League is no longer a knockout tournament...

Medvedev and Zverev both finished their group with a better percentage than the other bloke. The whole tournament needs to be scrapped. It is a waste of time.

Also, it's always played on indoor hardcourts. I know it's cold and wet in Europe at this time of the year,but there are other places and surfaces where it can be played.