Talia Gibson faced an unexpected defeat in the opening round of the Billie Jean King Cup, falling to a relative unknown teenager who is ranked over 200 positions below her.
Gibson was anticipated to breeze past Mika Stojsavljevic, currently at No. 275 in the world, during the initial match of Australia’s tie against Great Britain.
However, the talented Aussie was unable to secure the win, losing in straight sets, 7-6(7-4), 7-5 on Friday to the 17-year-old Stojsavljevic, who gave the Brits an impressive start.
Talia Gibson congratulates Mika Stojsavljevic. Getty Images for Billie Jean King
The world No. 56 entered the tournament in exceptional form, regarded as Australia’s most promising candidate for advancing to the finals due to injuries sidelining young talent Maya Joint.
Gibson had made impressive strides in the WTA rankings recently, achieving victories over five top-20 players, including Naomi Osaka and Jasmine Paolini.
Australia will face their old rivals Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup at John Cain Arena in Melbourne on April 10-11.Catch all the action exclusively on Nine
The 21-year-old reached the quarter-finals at Indian Wells and advanced to the round of 16 at the Miami Open before falling to Elena Rybakina.
This unforeseen BJK upset has placed additional pressure on teammate Kimberly Birrell, who was set to compete against Harriett Dart, with a doubles match planned for Saturday.
Birrell secured the first set 6-4 against Dart.
Compiled by SportArena.au.
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