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(Reuters) - Katie
Boulter and Heather Watson won with near-identical scorelines to
give Britain a 2-0 lead in their Billie Jean King Cup playoff
against Mexico on Friday while Ukraine and Italy also chalked up
victories.
With Britain's top-ranked player Johanna Konta sidelined with a
knee problem, it was up to Boulter and Watson to take control of
the tie in Roehampton.
While Boulter beat Marcela Zacarias 7-5 6-0, with the second set
lasting less than 25 minutes, Watson overcame Giuliana Olmos 7-5
6-1 to put Britain in a commanding position in the best-of-five
tie.
"Initially I was a little bit nervous... It was a really close
first set and I managed to squeeze it through," Boulter said.
"I managed to get into the second set and play some really good
tennis... I was very happy with the second set, I'm really happy
with how I closed the match out."
The doubles match and the reverse singles matches will be held
on Saturday and Britain can take an unassailable 3-0 lead if
Watson beats Zacarias.
Earlier, Ukraine took a 2-0 lead over Japan as world number five
Elina Svitolina took the first point of the Billie Jean King Cup
era.
The old Fed Cup was re-branded last year and named after the
American great and 12-times Grand Slam singles champion who won
the inaugural tournament nearly 60 years ago.
"Scoring the first point of the Billie Jean King Cup era is a
special feeling and hopefully there are many more to come for
Ukraine," Svitolina said after beating Japan's Chihiro Muramatsu
6-3 6-2.
Italy also took a 2-0 lead over Romania in Cluj-Napoca after
Elisabetta Cocciaretto beat debutant Irina Bara 6-1 6-4 while
Martina Trevisan held off Mihaela Buzarnescu to win 6-2 2-6
7-6(5) in an epic encounter that lasted over three hours.
Kazakhstan and Argentina shared the spoils after Yulia
Putintseva came from behind to beat Nadia Podoroska 2-6 6-4 6-0
before Maria Carle upset Elena Rybakina 6-4 3-6 6-0 in front of
a small but loud crowd.
Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko was tested by India's Ankita Raina but
prevailed in three sets with a 6-2 5-7 7-5 victory while
Anastasija Sevastova brushed aside Karman Thandi 6-4 6-0 to give
her team a 2-0 lead.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru)
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