Italy into Billie Jean King Cup final for third straight year

Defending champions Italy advanced through dramatic, late-stage drama at the Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen, first surviving a tense quarterfinal against host China with two comeback singles wins and then edging Ukraine in the semifinals to reach the final for a third straight year, match reports said.

In the quarterfinal on Tuesday, Elisabetta Cocciaretto opened the tie by rallying from a set down and from multiple games and match points against Yuan Yue to win 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Cocciaretto, ranked outside the top 80, twice broke back when Yuan served for the match and closed out the deciding set by winning the final five games, collapsing to the court in relief afterward. "Thanks to my captain, my team, my coach, I came back and fought until the last point," Cocciaretto said. "We put extra energy in when we play for our flag."

World number eight Jasmine Paolini then secured the tie for Italy with another recovery, defeating local favorite Wang Xinyu 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. Wang served for the match in the second set before Paolini broke back and dominated the tiebreak, then withstood a third-set surge from the Shenzhen-born player to reel off four consecutive games and clinch victory....