Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart claimed a 3-0 victory for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia when they won their doubles match in straight sets.
The British team beat Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez 6-3 6-4 to complete the victory in Melbourne.
Burrage and Dart trailed 3-1 in the first set before snapping a five-game losing streak after the John Cain Arena roof closed.
After a commercial break at the start of the second set, the British duo served out a match in the first round to seal victory for Anne Keothavong’s side.
“That’s amazing,” said an emotional Burrage, who had surgery for a broken wrist and a broken ankle last year. “I’m proud of us for the way we played, the way we came out and were able to close that out.”
Dart added: “It’s crazy really because we played really well and to be able to get to the finals is kind of surreal.”
Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Katie Boulter and Fran Jones were all absent for GB, with Dart and 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic, tasked with beating top-class opposition on Friday.
Katie Swan was selected to play the final rubber against former junior world No 1 Emerson Jones but a back issue in the second round led to a 7-5 6-3 defeat for the Brit.
Britain have now won their last qualifying round for the Billie Jean King Cup, with wins over France, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.
They advance to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, which takes place in September.
They will compete against six other energetic winners from the qualifiers as well as host country China.
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Great Britain manager Keothavong said: “We’re all very happy. Look, it’s been an unbelievable week here in Melbourne, and the tennis that was played yesterday and today was just fantastic. I couldn’t ask for anything more from my team. I’m proud of them.”
Keothavong has been captain of the team since 2016 and believes Great Britain “deserves something special” after reaching the semi-finals last year.
Asked if they could win the Billie Jean King Cup, the skipper said: “That’s always the main goal and I know we have the players and the depth in the UK to do something special in this tournament.
“But I’ve heard that at some point and sometimes you need a bit of luck for everything to come together.
“Actually, when we go to the finals, whoever’s on my team, we’re there. We’re not there to do the math, that’s for sure.”
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