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The way Marina Stakusic is rolling at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the teenager’s wins might have to stop being described as “upsets.”
Even if, technically speaking, they definitely are.
On Thursday, for the second straight day in Spain, the 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont. took down a much higher-ranked opponent, earning a victory in singles for Canada that helped advance the country to the semifinals at the international team event in Spain.
“I’m feeling amazing,” Stakusic told reporters, just after her win.
All of Team Canada is feeling amazing, to be sure. They’re now in the final four, matching a best-ever performance on this stage, and a return to the semifinals after a 35-year wait.
Stakusic, who’s ranked 258th in the world, opened her first ever BJK Finals on Wednesday with an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 win over World No. 65 Rebeka Masarova to lead Canada to a 3-0 sweep of the hosts from Spain.
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On Thursday, Stakusic bettered her career best in singles, this time with a gutsy come-from-behind victory over world No. 63 Magdalena Frech. Her 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win gave Canada the lead in an eventual 3-0 victory over Poland, who were without world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Stakusic’s match took nearly three hours and saw her battle back in the second set, down 2-4.
“I think the main thing was just for me to keep fighting and keep pushing and keep trying to find a solution and try to get into the zone,” she told reporters. “Because when I feel like I’m in the zone, I feel like I can play really, really well.”
It’s safe to say Stakusic has been in the zone. And her win on Wednesday certainly drew notice. “I never had that many people text me in one day on my phone,” she said in a press conference, with a laugh.
Her idol since she began playing tennis is men’s world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. “I’m Serbian, so I always loved him,” she continued. “He’s definitely my idol, just his mentality on the court and the way that even when it looks like he might lose, he figures out a way to win.”
That’s exactly what Stakusic accomplished herself on Thursday.
Canada also got a win in doubles from Eugenie Bouchard and reigning U.S. Open doubles champion, Gabriela Dabrowski, and in singles from Leylah Fernandez.
For Fernandez, the 6-2, 6-3 victory over Poland’s Magda Linette extends her win streak at the BJK Cup to 13 matches.
“It means the world to me,” the 21-year-old told reporters, after her match. “To be in the semifinals of the World Cup of tennis means that Canada is going up in tennis and just keeps improving. Now we want what the men were able to do, which was to win the Davis Cup.”
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That’s something Team Canada’s men achieved around this time last year, and for the first time in history.
Team Canada’s women have a rest day Friday before Saturday’s semifinals. Canada will play either the U.S. or Czechia, who go head to head Friday to determine the winner of Group A.
The final goes on Sunday. Advancing to that stage would be a best-ever finish for Canada, though the focus isn’t just on getting there.
“For us, winning the Billie Jean King Cup would be a dream,” Fernandez told reporters.
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