Britain miss out on BJK Cup final with doubles defeat

Whether Britain win the trophy sometime over the course of Raducanu’s career, or not at all, remains to be seen.

But the 22-year-old has again showed over the past week why Keothavong’s team need her fit and firing.

Raducanu had not played for two months before the women’s team event because of a foot injury and it remained to be seen what shape she would be in.

Straight-set wins against Germany’s Jule Niemeier and Canada’s Rebecca Marino were encouraging given her previous absence.

Raducanu was again expected to make light work of Hruncakova, who is ranked 238th in the world and largely plays on the third-tier ITF Futures Tour.

A slow start from the Slovakian, whose game revolves around power from the baseline, allowed Raducanu to move 5-1 ahead in the first set before becoming slightly passive as her opponent improved.

Her first-serve percentage was not as high as she would have liked and her returning game also lacked rhythm as Hruncakova fought back to 5-4 before Raducanu served out.

It was a similar story in the second set.

Raducanu confidently moved a double break up before Hruncakova pinched one back, forcing the British player to again show her resilience.

The guttural roar which greeted her winning crosscourt forehand on match point indicated Raducanu’s satisfaction, as did the beaming smile across her face as she handed out high fives to the whole British team afterwards.

“Every match is truly challenging and as the tournament progresses it is more and more,” said Raducanu, who has thrived in the team environment.

“It was a tough match and my opponent has a huge ball strike and played above her ranking.

“I was pleased with how I composed myself and served out the sets.”