Google News Ajla Tomljanovic 'unbelievably happy' to lead Australia to semifinal berth at BJK Cup
by DZEVAD MESIC
Ajla Tomljanovic couldn't hide her happiness after helping Australia make the semifinal at the Billie Jean King Cup. Tomljanovic, ranked at No. 43 in the world, saw off Aliaksandra Sasnovich 4-6 6-2 6-3 to seal victory for Australia over Belarus.
In the opening rubber of the tie, Storm Sanders beat Yuliya Hatouka to give Australia an early lead. “There’s no greater feeling, I was happy that I could come out today and the fact that I got a point makes me unbelievably happy.
I just feel like I came here to help the team and ended up doing that, so that makes me happy,” said Tomljanovic, as quoted on the Billie Jean King Cup website. When asked what was her biggest strength against Sasnovich, Tomljanovic said: “I think just staying tough.
She played some great tennis those first six, seven games and I just tried to hang in there. I snagged a little break in the second set and played a good set. But then it got tricky, she raised her level in the third, so I think in the end it was a good quality match”.
Tomljanovic, Sanders lead Australia to a semifinal berth
This week, Sanders clinched her first top-20 win after stunning Belgium's Elise Mertens. “This was my first Top-20 win and coming into the Australian summer as well, it’s for me very exciting,” said the 27-year-old Sanders.
“I’ve had a really good season this year. It was a long seven months away from home, obviously very difficult to get back to Australia and a lot of us Australian players did find it really tough, but a lot of us had really great results this year, which is something we can be really proud of”.
Sanders is full of confidence and hoping to have a good run in Australia at the beginning of the season. “I’m really proud of myself to be able to have that performance [here], just give myself that belief heading into preseason and then the Australian summer of tennis,” Sanders added.