Bengaluru, Nov. 14 -- Slovenia made a strong start to their Billie Jean King Cup Play-off campaign here on Friday, taking a 2-0 lead over the Netherlands after hard-fought singles wins from Tamara Zidansek and Kaja Juvan.
In the opening match, world No. 162 Zidansek delivered a composed performance to defeat the higher-ranked Arantxa Rus (No. 139) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6). The Slovenian set the tone early with a break to lead 3-1 and maintained control throughout a dominant first set. She again raced ahead 2-0 in the second, but Rus responded with improved aggression, levelling at 5-5 before breaking to move ahead 6-5. Zidansek steadied herself, forcing a tie-break and edging it to seal the straight-sets victory.
"I'm really happy," Zidansek said a...