ITF

24 Winter 2021 ITF World we just needed one point that I couldn't give them, so that was probably the worst day of my life. But I overcame this, and it also made me stronger." On the opposite side of the court, there was palpable disappointment in the Swiss camp. Captain Heinz Guenthardt, who has led the team since 2012, admitted his charges were destabilised by the late change made by RTF, although he duly praised the quality of their overall performance. "Did that throw us off? Yes, it did," said Guenthardt. "Are we going to come back? You bet we're going to come back. They are a young team and they're only getting better. "The men won their [Davis] Cup, but the women have never won a Cup. We're obviously good enough to be in the final, and if you're in the final, usually you're good enough to win it. "Real success is overcoming failure, but this is not a failure, making the final is not a failure. So, will we be back? Absolutely. Will we be tough to beat? Count on it." Switzerland more than played their part during the Finals, and in sweeping past a buoyant Australia in the semis, reached their first Billie Jean King Cup final for 23 years. Back in 1998, when the Swiss succumbed to Spain in Geneva, five-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Hingis was their leading lady and she was back on the Swiss bench in Prague in a coaching capacity. The 41-year-old watched on as Switzerland thrived, brushing aside Germany in their opening group-stage tussle before prevailing from a high-octane winner-takes-all clash against Czech Republic. Heading into the tie, the weight of history was very much against Switzerland with them losing eight of their nine previous bouts with 11-time tournament winners Czech Republic, who have been utterly rampant in recent years, creating something of a dynasty. Six of their Billie Jean King Cup titles have come since 2011, while they had won 15 of their previous 17 ties. Furthermore, Prague's O2 Arena resembled a fortress with the Czechs boasting a 100 per cent record from six ties. It was a box office showdown which went the distance before Bencic and Teichmann silenced a boisterous and partisan crowd by overpowering Katerina Siniakova and Lucie Hradecka in the doubles. The prelude to this tension-fuelled decider was Bencic dispatching Barbora Krejcikova in the second singles clash to draw Switzerland level and cancel out Marketa Vondrousova's opening triumph against Golubic. For Switzerland, it was a scalp of some considerable note. Krejcikova, meanwhile, who rose to No. 3 in the world during the Finals, was the highest- ranked player at the event and spearheaded Czech Republic's latest quest for glory. Had Czech Republic triumphed, it would have been a fitting end to a sensational year for the 25-year-old, who claimed her maiden Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros in June and Olympic gold in the women's doubles alongside Siniakova at Tokyo 2020. On the eve of the event, Krejcikova recalled two previous occasions – two finals – when she sat in the O2 Arena cheering on her beloved Czech Republic but was powerless to impact the result. The first was in 2012 while she was still a teenager. Brno-born Krejcikova was in the stands as Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova won singles matches to propel her nation to a 3-1 victory over Serbia. Fast-forward six years and Krejcikova achieved her ambition and was a member of the triumphant Czech team of 2018. However, while slated to play the doubles alongside Siniakova, she did not feature as the rampant Czechs comfortably dispatched USA. The role of cheerleader was fine, but Krejcikova wanted more. This year, she had far more than a watching brief, although the fairytale ending to the season which she craved slipped from her grasp as she was defeated by Germany's Angelique Kerber and then Bencic. Nevertheless, the Billie Jean King Cup had provided another compelling narrative of hope and aspiration – the competition rarely fails to deliver top-notch storylines – and there were plenty of others. Belgium's Greet Minnen, for instance, will forever have a place in history after becoming the first player to win a match at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals following the competition's historic rebrand. She defeated Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus as Belgium sealed victory in their opening group match. Australia's Daria Gavrilova, meanwhile, made her competitive return at the Finals after being sidelined for nine months. The 27-year-old underwent surgery after the Australian Open in February in a bid to cure a long-standing Achilles tendon problem. BILLIE JEAN KING CUP FINALS

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