Japanese number one Moyuka Uchijima beat Romania’s Anca Todoni to dash Romania’s hopes of reaching the Finals after Ena Shibahara had got Japan off to a flying start in their Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers Group A clash on Saturday.
Shibahara beat Miriam Bulgaru 7-5 6-2 and Uchijima overcame Todoni 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2 in two and half hours in Tokyo to set up a winner-takes-all showdown with Canada on Sunday.
Todoni broke Uchijima twice in the first set and led for much of the second set before Uchijima broke back to force a tiebreak.
Uchijima dominated that and broke Todoni twice in the third set to seal victory.
Shibahara had put Japan ahead to the delight of a vocal home crowd, pouncing at 6-5 claim the first set and breaking Bulgaru twice in the second.
