Russians eliminate U.S., will face Swiss in Billie Jean King Cup final

[November 06, 2021] Liudmila Samsonova and Veronika Kudermetova carried the Russian Tennis Federation to the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup with a decisive 6-3, 6-3 doubles victory over Americans Shelby Rogers and Coco Vandeweghe on Friday in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Russians will square off with the team from Switzerland in the championship match.

Samsonova opened the Russia-U.S. semifinal with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win over Sloane Stephens. Samsonova saved 7 of 11 break points in her first singles match of the competition to beat the 2017 U.S. Open champion.

Danielle Collins leveled the score 1-1 by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7 (9), 7-6 (2), 6-2, in a two-hour, 42-minute marathon.

The Swiss swept the Australians in the other semifinal. Jil Teichmann beat Storm Sanders 6-0, 6-3, and Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic topped Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2.

The Swiss and Russians will meet Saturday in the final, as Russia looks for its first title since 2008 and Switzerland looking for its first championship.

--Field Level Media

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