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TEENAGER Mika Stojsavljevic stunned Talia Gibson, ranked more than 200 places above her, in straight sets as Great Britain took a 2-0 lead over Australia in the Billie Jean King Cup.
The world number 275, who made her debut in the competition, downed Gibson, 56th in the WTA rankings, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in the opening singles match in Melbourne.
Harriet Dart, ranked 173rd in the world, then fought back from a set down to beat Kimberly Birrell 4-6 6-3 6-3 in just under two and a half hours.
A doubles and two reverse singles matches are yet to be played, with Great Britain only needing to win one match to advance to the eight-team finals in China, in September.
They will be played tomorrow, Saturday, 12th of April.
Stojsavljevic, 17, is the second-lowest ranked player in a Great Britain team missing stars such as Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Sonya Kartal and Fran Jones – all of whom are ranked inside the world’s top 100 for singles.
But the 2024 US Open junior champion was unfazed by her underdog status and the Australian crowd, holding her nerve to clinch the first set in a tie-break after letting a 3-1 lead slip.
She went on to save five break points in the penultimate game of the second set, before winning the match point at the first opportunity.
“It feels amazing. I can’t believe it. I can’t even remember the last point,” Stojsavljevic said. “I had amazing support from the side and managed to get through.
“Going into it, I knew she’d have the home ground. I’m grateful to the people supporting GB today.”
“It was a good match. We have very similar games, both quite aggressive, so I’m happy I got through it.”
Dart followed up with a win which puts Great Britain in firm control and likely to progress to the eight team finals.
