Iga Swiatek leads Poland to first BJK Cup semifinal with singles and doubles wins over Czech team

Uchijima stole Paolini’s first service game. But that was only a blip in an otherwise dominant showing by the Italian. Paolini broke Uchijima four times and hit 17 forehand winners to secure the straight-set victory.

In doubles, the Italians broke the Japanese four times and made just 14 unforced errors to 23 by their rivals.

“Japan is a tough cookie, as you say in English,” Italy captain Tathiana Garbin said. “They played with a lot of courage so it was fun to watch this kind of level. My players, they played unbelievable doubles, so we made it.”