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U.S. sweeps Belgium to advance to 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Victoria Chiesa | April 13, 2024

LAKE NONA, Fla. - Just call her Jessica Pegula, the clincher. For the third straight year, a win by the American has sent the U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

 

Pegula defeated Hanne Vandewinkel in Saturday's first match at the USTA National Campus 6-2, 6-0 to give the U.S. an unassailable 3-0 lead against visiting Belgium and confirm that the Americans will be one of the 12 teams who'll play for the Billie Jean King Cup this November in Seville, Spain. The U.S. will be bidding for a record-extending 19th title in the competition.

 

The qualifying tie eventually ended 4-0 in favor of the home team, as Caroline Dolehide and Taylor Townsend put a bow on the weekend with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Marie Benoit and Kimberly Zimmermann.

After being pushed in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over 2022 Australian Open junior finalist Sofia Costoulas on Friday night, Pegula admitted she started the match "flat." On Saturday, with a 2-0 team lead at her back, she was anything but against another 19-year-old in Vandewinkel, the world No. 278. Pegula won the first four games of the match, lost just five points in the second set, and hit 18 of her 21 winners from her forehand in 51 minutes. It was a perfomance that Belgian captain Wim Fissette, the coach of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka throughout the year, dubbed "almost perfect."

 

"I love being in a clinch position," Pegula said afterwards. "I love being able to get that win. That can also be a lot of pressure. At the same time, I try to embrace it the most that I can."

Pegula is now 6-2 in Billie Jean King Cup matches in her career, and has won her last four in singles. Last year, she also delivered the clinching singles win in the qualifying round against Austria, and the year before, partnered Asia Muhammad to victory in doubles in a live fifth rubber. 

 

The world No. 5 said the warmer weather on Saturday afternoon suited her game better than the cool and windy conditions in which she played her match against Costoulas on Friday night. Another thing that helped? Getting to watch Vandewinkel play for 2 and a half hours against Emma Navarro after her victory on Day 1, allowing her to get a feel for the Belgian's game. 

 

"I was just feeling it. ... Sometimes when you get through those really tough ones, it can kind of turn around for you," Pegula said. 

 

Former world No. 1 and International Tennis Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport had 33 wins in the competition as a player. But she admitted her first tie as U.S. captain was a learning experience for her. On the whole, though, it was everything she hoped it would be.

 

"These ladies were amazing," she said. "Everything I wanted in terms of teamwork, being together, a lot of funny stuff. It was really great.

 

"To see them last night, to battle through conditions that weren't perfect for either of my players, then to see Jess, I told her at 6-2, 5-Love today, 'This is a lot more enjoyable for me!' It was fun spending time with these ladies, getting to know them. Some I didn't know that well before I got here. I was really pleased with how this 'first week' went."

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