Jessica Pegula returns to form, leads U.S. past Belgium in Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier

ORLANDO, Fla.—Team USA’s fight to take a 2-0 lead against Belgium on Day 1 of their Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier paid dividends on Day 2. On Saturday, the Americans encountered far less resistance from their overmatched opponents, and completed a 4-0 sweep to reach the 12-nation Finals.

After struggling with the wind Friday night against Belgium’s Sofia Costoulas, Pegula breezed past Hanne Vanderwinkel of Belgium in 51 minutes, 6-2, 6-0, in the reverse singles match Saturday. The perfect sunny weather sped up the court to Pegula’s liking, and the win clinched the tie for new captain Lindsay Davenport.

“I was just kind of feeling it. The conditions suited me, and I love being in a clinch position,” Pegula said.

Vanderwinkel, making her BJK Cup debut, had a quick turnaround from her adrenaline-filled three-set loss to Emma Navarro late on Day 1. She was back on court 15 hours later facing the No. 5 player in the world, a brand-new situation for the 19-year-old ranked No. 275.

“She’s used to getting 12 hours of sleep,” Belgian coach Wim Fissette said.

Vanderwinkel said Pegula’s level was so high that nothing else mattered.

“I couldn’t play my game against those balls. I don’t think it would have made a difference if I was fresher,” she said.

In the dead fourth rubber, Taylor Townsend and Caroline Dolehide made quick work of Marie Benoit and Kimberley Zimmerman, 6-3, 6-1. Dolehide replaced Madison Keys in the original lineup.

“I was like, Let's wrap this up so we can go get some coffee and something else. We got ice cream waiting for us, acai bowls. There's a whole mess in our team coolers,” Townsend said.

With the victory, Davenport continued her successful hold on BJK Cup. She retired with three titles and a 26-3 singles record, more wins than any other American besides Billie Jean King.

Davenport was impressed with how well the Belgian teenagers played to nearly pull off a double upset on Day 1. It reminded her of beating Belgium en route to the 2000 Fed Cup title.

“We were pretty heavy favorites against two teenagers. It was [Kim] Clijsters and [Justine] Henin. Look what happened to them,” she said.

Davenport had more glowing praise for her own team after a week of bonding off the court and coming together on Day 1, when both Pegula and Navarro needed a lift from the bench to get through their matches.

“I really got the team I wanted,” she said. “Coco Gauff's team indicated she\] wasn't an option for this maybe six months ago, when I was first announced \[[as captain]. I knew for a long time who I was looking to get together. Everybody said yes. It was amazing. To see them also work together, the camaraderie, that's what I wanted.”

The feeling is mutual for the players after learning from their Hall of Fame coach.

“We're never going to take this for granted,” Dolehide said. “Lindsay is such a role model to all of us. To have [her] choose us to be a part of this team means so much. I was out there practicing serves a little bit extra every single day because Lindsay had one of the best serves out there. That gives me a lot of confidence to go after it and keep working on that.”

Team USA advances to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville, Spain, in November. The other teams that qualified this weekend are: Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The following teams have a bye to the final: Canada, as the defending champion; Italy, as last year’s runner-up; Spain, as the host nation; and the Czech Republic, as a wild card entry.