The USA are through to the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in seven years after Jessica Pegula secured an insurmountable 2-0 lead against Great Britain.
Emma Navarro gave the Americans the lead earlier in the day after defeating Sonay Kartal in two hours and 13 minutes.
Britain’s Katie Boulter was closing in on bringing the tie to a decisive match after taking the first set against Pegula, but the world number seven came back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
After her triumph, the former US Open finalist revealed what ‘motivated’ her before playing Boutler.
Jessica Pegula admits her ‘level wasn’t there’ against Katie Boulter
In her on court interview after the match, Pegula said: “Watching my teammate Emma win earlier definitely motivated me a lot, the way she turned that match around.
“If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have been in such a great position to win the match. I had to find a way to compete, I felt like my level wasn’t there, she was playing at a high level but I was able to turn it around.
“It’s the first time I will be in a final, it’ll be a new experience, and there’s no one better I’d rather share it with. We have an awesome team, we’re excited to be back and hopefully take the title.”
The USA will face Italy for the cup, who booked their place in a third consecutive final after beating Ukraine 2-1.
Jessica Pegula explains how she turned it around in the semifinals
When asked in her post-match press conference what changed in the second set, Pegula said: “I thought I came out just kind of slow and weird. She was playing just better than me in the first set, for sure.
“She was coming out firing, going for her shots. I felt like I was just kind of off balance, not really using my legs. My serve patterns weren’t really great.
“I feel like I actually ended up serving really well in the second and third set there. I kind of turned it around. I had to up my level.
“I think I just went back to the strategy on my serve, focused really hard on the returns, and the points just tried to dig in, get my feet under me, try and find my rhythm a little bit. I think I was able to play much better tennis in the third.”
The last time the USA made the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup was in 2018, when they lost to the Czech Republic.
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