Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was hoping not to have to take the court again on Saturday after falling short in her singles match against Latvia, but when Serena Williams was defeated for the first time in a Fed Cup singles match, it was left to Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands to get the US into the finals.
“I was cheering Serena on very loud... I was really nervous for you,” Kenin said. “I was super excited. This is why we play, moments like these, and these moments we can remember forever.”
Kenin and Mattek-Sands teamed up for a 6-4, 6-0 doubles victory over Jelena Ostapenko and Anastasija Sevastova to give the US a 3-2 win over Latvia in their Fed Cup qualifying match.
Photo: AP
It was a more challenging day than expected for the US, who held a 2-0 lead entering the second day of singles matches, but Ostapenko beat Kenin in three sets and Sevastova followed with a stunning three-set victory over Williams.
Kenin took the place of Alison Riske in the doubles, her third match in barely 24 hours.
While she might have looked fatigued in her three-set loss to Ostapenko earlier in the day, Kenin found a boost teaming with the energetic Mattek-Sands and clinched their trip to Budapest for the finals in April.
“The last match of the day, you don’t know if it’s going to count for something or if it’s all coming down to it,” Mattek-Sands said.
“I’m ready for both. I’ve been in both situations,” she said.
In other qualifier results, Belarus clawed their way into the finals after beating the Netherlands 3-2 in The Hague, while Russia were also forced to go the distance, beating Romania 3-2 in Cluj-Napoca.
Spain swept Japan aside 3-1, while Switzerland beat Canada, Belgium beat Kazakhstan and Slovakia beat Britain, all 3-1. Germany thrashed Brazil 4-0 in warm conditions in Florianopolis.
They join already-qualified Australia, France, the Czech Republic and Hungary in the 12-team finals in Budapest in April.
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