Great Britain surged into the quarter-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup in Malaga with a straightforward 2-0 win over Germany in Friday's first-round encounter.
Emma Raducanu - making her return from a foot injury - kicked off proceedings with a 6-4 6-4 success over Jule Niemeier, before number one Katie Boulter confirmed GB's place in the last eight with a 6-1 6-2 thrashing of Laura Siegemund.
Still yet to win their maiden BJK Cup title, Anne Keothavong's team - who were incredibly well-supported in Malaga - commenced their latest bid for glory with 2021 US Open champion Raducanu playing her first match since September.
The 22-year-old had been hampered by a foot problem since the Korea Open, but she brought out the big serves against Niemeier on her comeback appearance, firing 10 aces in her one-hour and 55-minute success.
A spate of untimely double faults prevented Raducanu from wrapping up the win as quickly as she would have liked, as she wasted five match points and let a 5-2 lead slip in the second set as Niemeier cut the deficit to 4-5.
The former major winner was not made to pay for those missed opportunities, though, as she made it sixth time lucky on the match points to put GB one win away from a quarter-final showdown.
GB to meet defending champions Canada in quarter-finals
Katie Boulter secures the tie for Great Britain! 🇬🇧
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 15, 2024
An incredible 6-1 6-2 win in the second match means @the_LTA take the tie 2-0 👏#BJKCup pic.twitter.com/oOLjgC4o4w
After Raducanu was made to work for her straight-sets success over Niemeier, Boulter raced through her meeting with Siegemund, taking just 70 minutes to ensure GB's spot in the quarters.
The British number one arrived in Malaga in terrific form, having reached the final of the Hong Kong Open and semi-finals of the Japan Open, and she took no time at all to overwhelm the world number 84.
An opening hold to 30 was not a sign of things to come for Siegemund, as a merciless Boulter won the next six games on the spin before surprisingly losing serve at the start of the second set.
However, the world number 24 broke straight back and went on the warpath as she did in the opening set, winning 75% of points on her first serve and committing just 17 unforced errors compared to Siegemund's 29.
Keothavong's team now have a day of rest on Saturday before taking on reigning champions Canada in Sunday's quarter-final, where the winner will set up a semi-final showdown with Australia or Slovakia.
Ben Knapton
