CARTAGENA, Spain – Carla Suárez Navarro provided an emotional climax in her final Fed Cup home match as she led the Spain team through to the finals in Budapest with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 victory over Kurumi Nara.
It sealed a 3-0 success for Spain, who had established a stranglehold on the tie on Friday thanks in part to Sara Sorribes Tormo’s shock straight-sets win over former WTA World No.1 Naomi Osaka.
The two-time major champion had been expected to take to the court again on Saturday, but Japan changed their nomination.
Suárez Navarro was in command of the match from the outset, breaking the WTA World No.137 on four occasions in the first set and only allowing the visiting player a game point in one of her service games.
🎾 #FedCup ¡Todos con @CarlaSuarezNava en busca del punto que lleve a la Selección Española @MAPFRE_ES a las Finales de Budapest...!#VamosEspaña🇪🇸🎾 #ConEllas pic.twitter.com/kRREVv4W7P
— Tenis España (@RFETenis) February 8, 2020
As such, the WTA World No.55 sealed the opener in just 32 minutes and took a big step towards her 18th Fed Cup victory, pulling her joint fourth in her nation’s all-time list alongside Anabel Medina Garrigues.
The second proved to be a little more complicated, though the 31-year-old still managed to give herself some healthy early breathing space by breaking Nara to 30 in the second game.
Neither player wavered on their delivery again, although Suárez Navarro did miss two match points when Nara was serving at 2-5 to keep her country in the tie.
Although both points were staved off, it simply postponed Spain’s success, which arrived as Suárez Navarro served out to 30, which meant there was no need for Sorribes Tormo to take the court again against Misaki Doi.
