BJK Cup boilover: Slovakia to face Aussies in quarters

Ambitious Australia will play Slovakia in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finals after the Europeans upset the USA in a thriller in Malaga.

The ITF had billed the round-of-16 tie a "David versus Goliath battle" after Slovak Viktoria Hruncakova warned the US "we are a small country, but we have a big heart".

And so it proved as Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova hung on in the deciding doubles rubber to seal a 2-1 victory for Slovakia with a tense 6-3 3-6 10-8 win over Taylor Townsend and Ashlyn Krueger.

In a dramatic finale, the Slovak pair almost squandered a 9-2 lead in the match tiebreaker, letting six match points slip before pulling through.

Hruncakova threw herself to the ground in celebration, and then sobbed in her chair, overcome by the moment.

The doubles duo were given the opportunity to fight for victory after teammate Rebecca Sramkova pushed the tie to a decider with a shock 6-2 7-5 win over world No.11 and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins.

"I still have no words," Sramkova said after delivering the biggest win of her career.

Townsend had given the 18-times champions a 1-0 lead in the tie with a 7-5 6-4 win over 17-year-old debutant Renata Jamrichova in the opening match of the night.

Bidding to reach the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in five years, fourth-ranked Australia will face Slovakia on Sunday night.

New captain Samantha Stosur has picked a versatile team comprising long-time spearheads Ajla Tomljanovic and Daria Saville along with rising star Olivia Gadecki, the resurgent Kim Birrell and doubles ace Ellen Perez.

Tomljanovic has declared herself good to go after withdrawing from a scheduled second-round match at the Merida Open in Mexico two weeks ago.

The Australian No.1 and three-times grand slam quarter-finalist says her scratching was only precautionary after a busy program highlighted by a second, morale-boosting WTA title in Hong Kong last month.

"It did a lot I think for my confidence. It was huge," Tomljanovic said on a Zoom call from Spain.

"I felt like all the matches I played were really high quality and I thought the field was really strong.

"So to come out with a win, I wasn't really excited at how my Asian swing was going.

"So just to finish the year strong, I felt like it was a good reward because I've been putting in the work and it hasn't really been showing in the tournaments prior.

"But it really felt like my game was kind of coming along in a good way."

Back up to No.85 in the rankings after missing more than a year with knee issues, Tomljanovic said she'd been merely "chasing points" in Mexico.

The 31-year-old is even willing to put her hands up for singles and doubles duty on Sunday if need be.