Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers 2025: Three key factors to GB’s win over Germany
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Great Britain’s victory over Germany has set up an exciting group decider against Netherlands for a place in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals later this year.
Victories for debutant Sonay Kartal and British No.1 Katie Boulter saw the Brits secure a much-needed win against the Germans under high stakes.
Here we break down the three key factors that contributed to an impressive win for Anne Keothavong’s side.
Kartal’s game style proves difficult to face on the clay
Kartal brings a unique style of play to the court – one that lends itself well to the clay. The British No.3 enjoys staying in the long rallies and using a variety of spin and depth to manipulate her opponents, ultimately taking them out of their comfort zone.
Niemeier on the other hand, who has made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the fourth round at the US Open, likes to play with power and pace through fast courts, but on the clay against an awkward opponent, she couldn’t make the most of her weapons.
After a slow start in the opening two games, Kartal quickly managed to enforce her tricky game style to great effect and defended well against the German.
This was most evident on a big point at 4-3, 30-30 with Niemeier serving to level the set after her second break. The German was ripping groundstrokes into both corners of the court, having Kartal run side-to-side like she was in a training drill, but each time, the Brit managed to get the ball back, making good use of her slice to eventually force an error.
It was the story of the match for long spells and Kartal broke Niemeier four times in the opening set, leaving the former world No.61 visibly frustrated as she found herself staring down a second defeat in two days.
The Briton only dialled things up in the second set. She shifted away from soaking up the pressure to instead prove the aggressor, playing more offensive to capitalise on the German’s drop in level.
Before the event, Kartal spoke about being more comfortable going for her shots and taking risks, and the British star certainly did that. The switch up in her game took advantage of other areas in Niemeier’s game where she appeared uncomfortable on the clay and the errors mounted up right until the final ball.
A dream debut all in all for the young Briton from Brighton and more than anything, Kartal has shown the British fans that she has the game style to deal damage on clay at the top level.
Boulter’s in-game adjustments spark comeback
Boulter was left with it all to do trailing by a set and a break against an experienced opponent in 37-year-old Tatjana Maria.
The British No.1 had struggled to get a hold of Maria’s infamous slice coming off both wings and the short bounces on the clay left her a bit out of sorts.
With the match running away from her, the Briton showed her ability to adapt and navigate these kinds of matches and found a way to nullify Maria’s strengths – but how did she do it?
Firstly, her ambition for the second set was clear from the off – get up inside the court as much as possible, play on the front foot and get to the net where possible.
Boulter hadn’t managed to get a clear stronghold on the lengthy baseline exchanges but once she started coming up into the court, Maria’s slice proved less effective. The British star punished anything that came her way without the injection of pace with several volleys and drive volleys on important points.
The second was her approach to Maria’s serve. Rather than getting herself into the point, Boulter took more risks to take time away from the German and on second serves, going for out-right winners – which is how she closed out the second set.
The impact showed – Maria won 10% less points of her first serve (64% vs 74%) and 6% less on the second serve (44% vs 50%).
Once she managed to clinch that first break, Boulter shouted ‘I’m not going anywhere’ and she just started to shift through the gears to reach her best level.
The Briton hadn’t played a match on clay since the Paris Olympics last year compared to Maria who competed on this court just a day ago. While it took her time to get going, Boulter looked like a new player come the end of the match and blasted her way through the decider with little resistance.
Impressive mentality on the big stage
Considering all the factors – a debut, playing on the clay, first match out, a place in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on the line – the confidence and composure was a shining light in how the Brits came through both singles rubbers.
Having never experienced the pressure of representing her country on this stage and being the first match out to set the tone for the tie – it was telling how cool and calm Kartal remained throughout.
When you look at Kartal’s results coming into the Billie Jean King Cup, it’s easy to see why she was able to slot straight into that big match mentality. A fourth round at Indian Wells, titles in Monastir and Shrewsbury, and Grand Slam wins all in the last year have given the 22-year-old a vast amount of confidence, which is just flowing through her game at the moment.
Contrast that with Niemeier who has only won four of her 11 matches this season – including qualifiers. The German got down on herself quickly at the end of the opener and was never able to pick herself up.
Meanwhile in the second match, we saw Boulter’s wealth of experience and the maturity she has in high-stake matches to stay composed even when everything was going against her.
The mental side of Boulter’s game has been a real strong point during her ascent up the WTA rankings in recent years and rather than dwelling on the mistakes, she’s finding ways to create more opportunities to build confidence within matches.
It’s difficult to argue that this is never more evident than at the Billie Jean King Cup – where Boulter has now moved to a 15-5 winning record for her country. Playing for GB seems to inspire a level of confidence that we saw particularly in that deciding set, where the three-time WTA title winner barely missed a ball and continued to punish the same slice that caused her so many issues early on, time and time again.
Great Britain face Netherlands on Saturday 12 April at 13:00 UK time. Watch live coverage of Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers match against Germany exclusively on BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer and Tennis Channel.
