Sue Bartlett and her Great Britain teammates face top-seeded USA Friday for the ITF Women's 55s Senior World championship in Boca Raton, Fla.
In Thursday's semifinals, the No.2 seeded Great Britain team defeated No.3 France, 2-1, while No.1 USA defeated No.4 Australia, 3-0. The victorious Great Britain team secured the win with two long singles victories followed by a forfeit win in doubles for Sue Bartlett-Anne Clark.
Bartlett will be playing for her fifth world team medal. She won a team gold in 2009, followed by two silvers (2010, 2013) and a bronze (2011).
USA Men's 55s: The defending world doubles team of Wesley Cash-Mark Vines claimed the deciding point as No.3 USA defeated No.6 Germany, 2-1. Cash and Vines defeated Klaus Liebthal-Norbert Henn, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Friday Semis: No.3 USA vs. No. 8 Mexico ... No.1 Australia vs. No.5 France
Tragic Loss: USA's Mike Tammen defeated Horst Engel 7-5, 5-7 6-2 in the No.1 singles match, but also learned that his 93-year-old father died Thursday morning.
USA Women's 50s: The top seeded USA team faces No.5 Italy, while No.2 France takes on No.8 Netherlands in Friday's semifinals. Fran Chandler (Jackson, Tenn.) plays No.1 singles for the Americans.
Schedules and results are listed at itftennis.com.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net