SEVILLE, Spain — Captain Heidi el Tabakh rolled the dice by going with youth over experience in Canada’s opening singles match against Spain at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
The gamble paid off Wednesday as unheralded rookie Marina Stakusic delivered an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 upset win over Rebeka Masarova for the biggest victory of her young career.
Stakusic’s previous career-best victory had been against No. 152 Jaimee Fourlis in 2022. She had never beaten a top 100 opponent.
“This is such a special feeling and makes me believe that I belong here,” Stakusic said. “It is also super special to win in front of all the Canadians who I have worked with for a long time. What a feeling — it is the most meaningful win for me so far — and it will give me so much confidence going forward.”
“I just tried to have great energy from the beginning and just show that I belong here,” Stakusic said in an on-court interview. “I’m very happy with my performance.”
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., sealed the victory for Canada with a 7-6 (9), 7-6 (7) win over 50th-ranked Sara Sorribes Tormo in the other singles match.
Fernandez, the world No. 35, needed two hours 53 minutes to complete the win.
The best-of-three tie will conclude with a doubles match later Wednesday. Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Fernandez were scheduled to play Cristina Busca and Marina Bassols.
Doubles lineup selections could be changed after the completion of the singles matches.
The performance hushed the partisan crowd at Estadio la Cartuja and left Masarova frustrated and searching for answers.
“I think my composure was really important for me today,” Stakusic said at a media availability afterward. “I’m glad I was able to stay calm during the match.”
El Tabakh went outside the box by picking Stakusic over the more experienced Eugenie Bouchard and Rebecca Marino. But Stakusic showed the poise of a veteran, holding at love in the opening game and keeping the pressure on the Spaniard with heavy ground strokes and a deft touch at the net.
The Canadian opened the second set with back-to-back service breaks and refused to let Masarova gain any momentum. Down 1-4, the Spaniard had a triple-break point but Stakusic fought back for the hold before closing out the win in a tidy 69 minutes.
Stakusic, who has won three tournaments on the lower-level ITF circuit this season, called it the biggest win of her career.
Marino, the world No. 176 from Vancouver, and Bouchard, the world No. 273 from Montreal, cheered on their teammates from the Canadian bench. The team was missing 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., who has been nursing a back injury.
Canada was scheduled to continue Group C round-robin play Thursday against Poland. Spain and Poland were scheduled to play Friday.
Winners from each of the four three-team groups will advance to the semifinals. The championship game goes Sunday.
Stakusic, who made her pro debut as a 14-year-old in 2019, missed the first six months of this season with a knee injury. She was in form upon her return, raising trophies in Berkeley, Calif., Valladolid, Spain, and most recently at the Tevlin Challenger in Toronto.
She has an 18-4 tour record in 2023 and was named ITF world tennis tour player of the month for September.
“I didn’t think I’d be here right now at all,” Stakusic said. “But I think that whole injury (absence) motivated me to come back stronger than when I left.”
Fernandez, who reached the U.S. Open final in 2021, had a mediocre season this year but her play picked up this fall. Her first WTA Tour title of the season came at last month’s Hong Kong Open.
She entered play with an 11-3 BJK Cup record over seven career ties. She has risen to a career-high No. 17 in doubles.
Dabrowski and Fernandez teamed up for the deciding doubles win in a 3-2 victory over Belgium last April in Vancouver. The result sealed Canada’s berth in this week’s 12-team Finals.
Dabrowski has been in top form this season. The world No. 7 teamed with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe to win the U.S. Open women’s doubles crown and they made it to the semifinals at the WTA Finals last weekend.
Canada’s best showing at this event came in 1988 when it reached the semifinals before falling to Czechoslovakia.
Switzerland beat Australia in last year’s final in Glasgow. Canada did not make it out of group play.
Spain will also host the Final 8 stage of the Davis Cup Finals from Nov. 21-26 in Malaga. Canada is the defending champion at the men’s team event.
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime headlines a Canadian roster that includes Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que.
