Fernandez was not at her best, and seemed to struggle with her ball toss, double faulting nine times.
Even so, she kept fighting. Boulter was under immense pressure on her own serve, especially at 3-0 up in the second set. She faced four break points but still won the game, saving herself with a couple of clutch winners down the line to keep two breaks ahead.
When serving for the match though at 5-2, the nerves began to show. Boulter played a loose game and Fernandez took the opportunity to claw back the deficit. Then the Canadian saved match point in the next game and the momentum was swinging her way. Boulter had one more chance to serve it out and put a stop to Fernandez’s late surge.
Though the British No 1 got slightly tight – even double faulting on her second match point – she delivered a blistering serve at the fourth opportunity to finally close it out 6-2 6-4.
“I know how tough she is to beat, I know what a fighter she is,” Boulter said of Fernandez. “She makes it so hard to close matches out, but honestly, I feel like the last few matches that I played in Hong Kong, there are a couple there where I had to continue being the frontrunner, and that’s really helped me.
“I know it’s Billie Jean King Cup, you’re playing for a little bit more, but I feel like she’s a fighter and you’ve just got to keep going, keep believing, back yourself no matter what, not give her anything, and not show her that you’re a little bit nervous. I think that’s what I was at the end. But I just kept going for my shots and trusted them and managed to get it done the second time.”
On Britain’s chances going forward, Boulter added, “I definitely wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe we could win the tournament. I think we have got a great team. We’ve always got a great chance. We’re going to be in with the last four.
“I think every single day anything can happen. We’re just going to keep believing, keep trusting it, and just keep enjoying it. It’s worked so well for us so far.”
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