(Reuters) -World number 10 Elena Rybakina showed all her battling qualities to beat Kimberly Birrell 6-3 7-6(4) and give Kazakhstan an unassailable 2-0 lead over seven-times champions Australia in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in Brisbane on Thursday.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, went down an early break in the Group D tie but cranked up her powerful forehand and drew level after six games before claiming the opening set on serve with a big ace at the end.
Birrell raced to a 5-1 lead in the next but squandered a set point and Rybakina clawed her way back with some ferocious shot-making to clinch victory via the tiebreak.
“It was such a difficult match,” said Rybakina, who secured her eighth victory in 10 singles matches since her debut in the competition in 2021.
“I’m super happy to bring the win for the team … it’s always nice to be back in Australia.”
Earlier, Yulia Putintseva defeated debutant Maya Joint 6-2 6-1 at Pat Rafter Arena to give Kazakhstan the early lead in the best-of-three matches contest.
Teams have been divided into six round-robin groups of three in the qualifiers this year with the winners joining hosts China and 2024 champions Italy at the Finals in Shenzhen towards the end of the season.
Czech Republic meet Brazil in Group B in Ostrava later on Thursday, while Poland take on Switzerland in Radom and the Netherlands host Germany in The Hague in Group F.
Poland will be without French Open champion Iga Swiatek after the world number two opted to skip their Group E ties to focus on her training ahead of the clay season.
Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins were among a trio of players to withdraw from the United States team for the three-day qualifiers.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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