'Sport can be brutal' - GB trail France in BJK Cup

Great Britain face an uphill task to reach the Billie Jean King Cup Finals after losing both singles matches on day one of their tie against France.

Katie Boulter was beaten 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) by world number five Caroline Garcia to put France 1-0 up.

Harriet Dart, the highest-ranked player in Emma Raducanu's absence, then lost 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) to Alize Cornet.

It means France have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five tie, which concludes at Coventry Arena on Saturday.

"Sport can be brutal at times," Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong said. "Both Harriet and Katie should be proud of their efforts, it came down to a few points here and there."

There have been just seven comebacks from 2-0 down in the competition, which was formerly known as the Fed Cup, since the best-of-five format was adopted in 1995.

On day two, there will be two more singles rubbers which Britain must win to ensure the doubles match is needed to decide the tie.

"They've got to keep their heads up, there is no time to dwell and we go again," Keothavong added.

The winners will earn a spot in the 12-nation finals of the women's team event in November.

Britain show fighting spirit but wrong side of fine margins

Britain reached the semi-finals of last year's finals against the odds and looked to channel their underdog spirit to beat a French side that is much stronger in terms of rankings and previous pedigree.

With British number one Raducanu again missing, Keothavong named the same team who reached the last four in Glasgow.

All five sets played on Friday went to tie-breaks, showing how well Britain matched their visitors and the fine margins on which the matches were decided.

Dart, ranked 138th in the world, led from the front with superb wins over Spain's Paula Badosa and Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic at last year's finals, but was unable to replicate the feat of beating an opponent ranked much higher when she faced Cornet.

The 26-year-old Londoner led by a break on three occasions in the first set and served for the set at 5-4 against the world number 70, who reached the Australian Open quarter-finals last year.

Another chance came with a set point in the tie-break, but Dart pushed a forehand wide and then could not find the court with an acute-angled volley as the opening set swung in favour of Cornet.

The second set was similarly tight, without the same opportunities for Dart to break her opponent's serve.

Cornet had won only one of her past seven WTA matches but gradually grew in confidence and edged the important points when it mattered - like her team-mate Garcia did earlier.

Boulter shows she can mix it with the best

Boulter looked set to cause an upset before 2022 US Open semi-finalist Garcia showed her quality in the decisive moments to stop the hosts making a dream start to the qualifier.

In front of almost 2,000 home fans, Boulter led 4-2 in the decider before losing a compelling contest that lasted three hours and 26 minutes.

Boulter showed she is a player for the big occasion in a boisterous atmosphere, and how she thrives in the team environment, even though she was ultimately unable to get over the line against Garcia.

The Briton has struggled for match wins on the WTA Tour in recent months, dropping to outside the top 150 of the world rankings, but was picked as the second singles player by Keothavong.

The show of faith was repaid as Boulter demonstrated her quality and fight - as well as epitomising the togetherness which Keothavong has harnessed - to threaten a stunning win over Garcia.

"I will take that defeat to heart and it's really going to hurt but also I know the level I'm playing at," said Boulter, who was aiming for a third-straight win over a top-10 opponent following victories over Karolina Pliskova at Eastbourne and Wimbledon last year.

"It's only a matter of time where I get those wins and get to where I want to be. I genuinely believe that it's going to come."

After going a break up in the decider, Boulter was well on course to earn the biggest win of her career before Garcia upped her level amid the tension to fight back and clinch victory with her third match point.

Garcia's relief at coming through such a bruising battle was evident as she dropped her racquet and covered her face with both hands.

"It was a crazy match, to play well over three hours is pretty rare in tennis in three sets," said Garcia, who helped France win the tournament in 2019.

"Three tie-breaks shows how tight the match was. I had to fight and play well in a few points here and there."

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