Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter misplaced their respective singles matches as Nice Britain had been overwhelmed by a powerful Czech Republic facet within the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finals.
Anne Keothavong’s workforce headed into the tie as underdogs, with all 5 Czech gamers positioned greater within the singles rankings than any of the British squad.
Sonay Kartal produced a gritty efficiency as she returned to tennis after six months out with a decrease again harm, however fell to a slim 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 defeat in a marathon three-hour encounter with Marie Bouzkova.
Boulter might do little to get Britain again into the best-of-three tie as she was outplayed 6-2 7-6 (7-3) by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.
It was a second successive loss for Boulter by the hands of a Czech participant, coming simply three weeks after a 58-minute demolition by Karolina Muchova on the US Open.
It’s the first time since 2023 that Britain have failed to achieve the semi-finals on the Billie Jean King Cup and their watch for a maiden title will go on for one more 12 months.
The Czech Republic, who’re 11-time winners of the match and the one workforce boasting two top-10 gamers on the Finals, will face both Kazakhstan or Spain in Friday’s semi-finals.
Taking part in her first match since retiring injured within the fourth spherical at Indian Wells in March, Kartal began nicely and struck early towards world quantity 26 Bouzkova.
Nevertheless, she was damaged again instantly and Bouzkova dominated the tie-break to take the opener.
The Briton broke early within the second set and held on to pressure a decider, however her first double fault of the match handed Bouzkova a break for a 4-2 lead.
Kartal delayed defeat by saving three match factors and breaking again, however Bouzkova restored her lead instantly to clinch victory after precisely three hours on court docket to place the Czechs in entrance.
With Noskova and Muchova – this 12 months’s Wimbledon finalists – within the Czech squad, it was at all times going to be a uphill battle for primary Boulter.
Two double faults within the first recreation noticed Boulter drop serve early and world quantity six Noskova steamrolled her method by the opening 4 video games earlier than wrapping up the set.
Boulter improved within the second set and threatened to pressure a decider, however she was unable to create a single break level and Noskova took management of the tie-break to ship her nation into the semi-finals.
