Arizona Tribune - Japan qualify for BJK Cup finals with win over Canada

Victory in the doubles put them top of Group A and means they will be heading to Shenzhen in September to join hosts China, defending champions Italy and fellow qualifying group winners Ukraine, Spain, Great Britain and Kazakhstan.

The one remaining place will go to either Slovakia or USA, who meet in Bratislava later on Sunday.

Canada and Japan had both blanked Romania 3-0 in their opening matches, setting up the head-to-head finale which was played out in front of a noisy Tokyo crowd.

The Canadians made the better start with Victoria Mboko edging Ena Shibahara over three sets, 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5.

Moyuka Uchijima then levelled the tie when she breezed through the second match against Marina Stakusic, winning 6-3, 6-3.

That left everything on the doubles where Japan could call on the experienced Shuko Aoyama, now 37, and Eri Hozumi against Rebecca Marino and Kayla Cross.

The Japanese took the first set 6-3 but the Canadians hit back strongly to lead 5-1 in the second, at which point they wobbled, losing four games in a row.

They held their nerve to break again and take the set 7-5 but were immediately in trouble in the decider when Marino was broken.

As pressure mounted and errors crept into the Canadians' game, the Japanese pair turned the screw to see out a 6-2 final set which qualified them for the China showpiece.

The BJK Cup qualifiers featured six groups of three nations with the winners booking a ticket to the eight-team final tournament.

F.Wilson--AT