Late call-up Dart seals GB win in BJK Cup play-off

Katie Boulter is 58th in the world rankings - 314 places higher than Rinaldo Persson

Katie Boulter gave Great Britain a 2-1 lead in their Billie Jean King Cup play-off against Sweden with a hard-fought win over Kajsa Rinaldo Persson.

However, British number one Boulter avoided the same fate on Sunday with a tricky 6-1 7-6 (7-5) victory.

Boulter's performance means Britain can win the play-off if they claim victory in the next singles rubber.

Watch and follow live text of Great Britain's Bille Jean King Cup play-off against Sweden

Burrage had been due to play against Caijsa Hennemann in that match but captain Anne Keothavong has swapped the British number two out for Harriet Dart.

If the tie has not been won following the next singles rubber, it will go to a deciding doubles match with the winner progressing to the qualifying round for the 2024 Finals.

The loser will drop to the lower European/African zone - a group Great Britain know well, having spent 26 years there before sealing promotion in 2019.

'It was very difficult for me'

Having watched from the sidelines when Rinaldo Persson beat Burrage the previous day, Boulter knew she would face a more difficult match than their difference in rankings suggested.

"She's definitely tricky. She has some weapons which, especially on these courts, they really seem to help her," Boulter told a news conference.

"She keeps fighting, she raised her level clearly above her ranking again today and she made it very difficult for me."

Despite missing two break points in Rinaldo Persson's first service game, Boulter broke at the second opportunity for a 3-1 lead.

Rinaldo Persson put the 27-year-old under pressure in the next game but Boulter saved two break points to keep momentum on her side, before going a double break up and serving out the set.

Having exchanged breaks at the start of the second set, the Swede broke at 4-3, but she missed four set points and dropped serve while attempting to level the match.

Forcing a tie-break, Boulter held her nerve to pounce at the right moment and the partisan crowd erupted as she secured the win that put Great Britain ahead for the first time in the tie.

"You're not going to save set points without a little bit of heart, a little bit of luck, a little bit of hard work and trusting the process of what I've put in these past, many countless years and today it pulled off," Boulter said.

"Another day it might not but I'm very glad today it did and it was for my country which makes it a little bit sweeter."

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