Australia bests Slovakia in opening match of Billie Jean King Cup
Kazakhstan tops host nation Britain in Group C match
Australia and Kazakhstan claimed victories on the opening day of the Billie Jean King Cup, the biggest team event in women's tennis.
Kazakhstan won by the same score against Britain, the host nation, in Group C after Yulia Putintseva and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina won their singles matches.
Australia is a seven-time winner of the competition formerly known as the Fed Cup. All of its titles came from 1964-74.
Sanders beat Viktoria Kuzmova 6-4, 6-3, while Tomljanovic was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Ajla angles 📐<br><br>First set in the bag 6-1 with pristine play like this <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BJKCupFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BJKCupFinals</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TennisAustralia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TennisAustralia</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Ajlatom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ajlatom</a> <a href="https://t.co/OCCd89vd4m">pic.twitter.com/OCCd89vd4m</a>
—@BJKCupKuzmova teamed up with Tereza Mihalikova to beat Sanders and Ellen Perez in the doubles.
Putintseva recovered to beat Katie Boulter 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Rybakina, ranked No. 22, dispatched Harriet Dart in a 6-1, 6-4 win.
Power 🤝 Precision<br><br>Play of the Day belongs to <a href="https://twitter.com/ktf_kz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ktf_kz</a> star <a href="https://twitter.com/PutintsevaYulia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PutintsevaYulia</a> for this sensational backhand winner 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BJKCupFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BJKCupFinals</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/GainbridgeLife?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GainbridgeLife</a> <a href="https://t.co/kfu1ZvFF2D">pic.twitter.com/kfu1ZvFF2D</a>
—@BJKCupIn the doubles, Rybakina and Anna Danilina lost 7-5, 6-3 to Olivia Nicholls and Alicia Barnett, who were making their tournament debuts.
There are 12 teams in the competition and they are split into four groups of three. Each match consists of two singles and a doubles.
The group winners will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, with the final on Sunday.