Australia’s chances of reaching Billie Jean King Cup finals all but gone after loss to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan was too strong for Australia in Thursday’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in Brisbane.

Australia’s hopes of reaching the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup are in tatters after being outclassed by Kazakhstan in Thursday’s Group D qualifying clash in Brisbane.

The Kazakhstanis grabbed a unbeatable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three match affair at Pat Rafter Arena thanks to singles wins from Yulia Putintseva and Elena Rybakina.

Putintseva thrashed Australia’s debutant Maya Joint in 6-2 6-1 in 74 minutes in the day’s opening match.

It was then left to Kimberly Birrell to keep Australia’s hopes alive by beating world No.10 Rybakina.

And after losing the first set., Birrell seemed on target to take the contest into a deciding third-set when she led 5-1 in the second set.

However, Rybakina stormed home to win 6-3 7-6 in 86 minutes, with Birrell losing the second-set tie-breaker seven points to four.

The Australians bounced back in the doubles, with Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez beating Anna Danilina and Zhibek Kulambayeva 6-3 6-4 in 69 minutes to give the overall tie its 2-1 scoreline in favour of Kazakhstan.

The defeat means the Australians must now rely on the other Group D nation – Colombia – to cause a huge upset by beating Kazakhstan on Friday.

Kimberly Birrell plays a shot during her Billie Jean King Cup qualifying loss to Elena Rybakina. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

If the South Americans can’t do that, Australia’s hopes of reaching the Cup finals in China later this year would be over, regardless of how they fare on Saturday against Colombia.

“Destiny is out of our hands,” world No.61 Birrell admitted.

“We’ll see what happens (on Friday) but never count us out. We’ll dust ourselves off.

“No matter what happens, I’m super proud of the group.

“Even just looking forward for the rest of the season, any time we get to play a match against such quality players, it helps us even going into the next tournament, so we’ll be leaving it all out there.”

Birrell lamented her failure to make the most of the advantage she created for herself by breaking Rybakina’s serve in both sets.

“I definitely recognise a few things that I could have done better. When you have those kind of opportunities you really need to make first serves,” she said.

“She showed why she’s ranked where she is. I tried my best. I’m disappointed I couldn’t quite consolidate my opportunities that I had, but I’m super proud to wear the green and gold.”

Australian team member Ajla Tomljanovic, who was overlooked for playing duties on Thursday, said it had been a “tough start” for the hosts.

“Spirits aren’t the highest but we bounce back quick,” Tomljanovic told Channel Nine.

“For her debut, it was great debut by Maya. Sadly it didn’t reflect on the scoreline.

“‘Kimbo’ (Birrell) also played great, but Rybakina just always comes up with the goods when necessary, and that proves why she’s been so good for so long.”