Poland and the Czech Republic are all square at 1-1 in their quarterfinal tie at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, after World No.2 Iga Swiatek battled to an incredibly hard-fought win on Saturday in Malaga, Spain.

Swiatek held on for a 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5 victory over hard-hitting Czech teen Linda Noskova to keep her Polish squad alive in the tie. Swiatek needed 2 hours and 39 minutes to fend off 26th-ranked Noskova, who was playing her first match since the US Open.

The Czech Republic started the day ahead 1-0 when Marie Bouzkova beat Poland's Magdalena Frech 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in Saturday's opening match.

The tie will come down to the decisive doubles rubber. Swiatek will come back on court to team with Katarzyna Kawa for Poland -- Swiatek's first BJK Cup doubles match since 2019. The Czechs' doubles team will be Bouzkova and WTA Doubles World No.1 Katerina Siniakova.

Poland is seeking its very first Billie Jean King Cup title, while the Czechs have hoisted the trophy 11 times, most recently in 2018. The Czech Republic dominated this event in the 2010s, winning six times in that decade.

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Swiatek came to court knowing she had to win to keep her team in contention. Swiatek led Noskova 3-1 in the head-to-head, including two wins this year, but Noskova's victory came on a huge occasion, when she ousted Swiatek in the third round of this year's Australian Open.

Noskova, who turns 20 years old on Sunday, spent her last day as a teenager pushing Swiatek to the limit. After the pair went back and forth in the first set, Swiatek served for the set at 6-5, only to see Noskova fire a backhand winner into the corner to break for 6-6.

In the tiebreak, Noskova was unnerved by a stretch return by Swiatek off of a powerful serve, and she misfired on the reply to give Swiatek a 5-3 advantage. At 5-4, Swiatek summoned two unreturned serves to take the one-set lead after 70 grueling minutes.

In the second set, neither player was pushed to deuce through 4-4, but Noskova eventually found amazing volleys to break for a 5-4 lead. The Czech closed out the second set with consecutive backhand winners, edging closer to a possible upset.

Another tight set settled affairs, with a 4-1 third-set lead for Swiatek being reeled back by Noskova all the way to 5-5. Swiatek reclaimed dominance with her forehand to hold on for 6-5 and force Noskova to serve to stay in the match.

In that game, Swiatek fired a rally forehand winner to earn two match points. On her second match point, Swiatek again found a stretch return winner, Noskova replied with a miscue once more, and the Pole ended up the narrow victor.

Saturday's tie started with Bouzkova holding off a stern challenge from Frech to give the Czech Republic the 1-0 lead. Bouzkova had no problems racing through the first set, and she had two break points to take an early 2-0 lead in the second set.

However, Frech fended those chances off, and she gradually pulled herself into contention. Frech, who finished the season in the Top 25 for the first time in her career, quickly broke Bouzkova for a 5-4 lead in the second set, which she served out routinely.

The third set pitted Frech's angles against Bouzkova's speed, with very little separating the players. At 5-4, Bouzkova's exceptional defense helped her take charge on Frech's serve, garnering a 0-40 lead and triple match point. Bouzkova needed only one chance, slamming a big backhand to earn the victory.

More to come...