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Australia’s Storm Hunter won her doubles match at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals – despite only landing in Seville a few hours before the match and losing her luggage.<\/span><\/p>\n However, her win alongside Kimberly Birrell could not stop the 2022 runners-up losing to Slovenia.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It was obviously a quick turnaround, but for me, representing my country is the greatest honour,” Hunter said.<\/span><\/p>\n Later on the opening day, holders Switzerland lost to the Czech Republic.<\/span><\/p>\n Hunter, who is the world’s top-ranked doubles player, was among the stars who had to travel from the season-ending WTA Finals in Mexico to the BJK Cup Finals, which started on Tuesday in Spanish city Seville.<\/span><\/p>\n Hunter played alongside Belgium’s Elise Mertens in Cancun on Sunday, when the pair lost in the semi-finals.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s been a busy 24 hours. As soon as I finished in Cancun, I tried to get here as soon I could. Ended up landing at 8-8:30am this morning,” Hunter said.<\/span><\/p>\n “Bags didn’t arrive, so that made it a bit tricky, but I had some racquets on me and I was prepared to play. I had my outfit, my shoes, and mentally I was ready to go if our team needed that.”<\/span><\/p>\n In the 12-nation women’s team event formerly known as the Fed Cup, Slovenia secured victory on their finals debut after Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek won their singles matches. <\/span><\/p>\n Juvan won 6-4 6-1 against Ajla Tomljanovic, who has spent most of the season sidelined following knee surgery, before Zidansek beat Daria Saville 6-1 6-4.<\/span><\/p>\n Hunter and Birrell won 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 10-5 against Veronika Erjavec and Ela Milic for what could prove to be an important match win in the round-robin stage.<\/span><\/p>\n Later on Tuesday, Czech debutants Marie Bouzkova and Linda Noskova won their singles matches to clinch victory against the Swiss.<\/span><\/p>\n It gave the Czechs an unassailable lead in the best-of-three tie, with doubles pair Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova securing a clean sweep.<\/span><\/p>\n Switzerland were without Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, who announced her pregnancy last week, as Celine Naef was beaten 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 by fellow 18-year-old Noskova and Viktorija Golubic lost 6-4 6-4 to Bouzkova.<\/span><\/p>\n The Czechs, who won the most recent of their 11 titles in 2018, rested Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova after she played in the WTA Finals last week. <\/span><\/p>\n But Krejcikova and Siniakova, who also took part in the season-ending event, showed no ill effects of the long journey and short turnaround as they won 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 against Golubic and Jil Teichmann.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n