It has been seven months since Emma Raducanu led Great Britain to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. So much has happened since then, from her gradual rise back up the rankings to further frustrating injuries, and she arrived in Malaga this week at a different point in her development. As she stepped up to the baseline on Friday evening, it was unclear how rusty she would be after a two-month absence.

Two hours later, Raducanu departed the court having handled the pressure in her stride, setting the tone for her team with a solid, professional opening performance as Britain advanced to the quarter-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup with a 2-0 win over Germany.

After Raducanu held her nerve in a tense climax to close out a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jule Niemeier, the British No 1 Katie Boulter continued her excellent recent run of form by clinching the tie with a spectacular performance, demolishing Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-2. The British team will face Canada, the defending champions, on Sunday.

“I am a very proud captain. It was a fantastic performance from Emma and Katie,” said Anne Keothavong, the captain. “Emma having been off for a period of time, the way she dealt with it was a good performance. And the way Katie started and got the job done. I couldn’t be more proud of both of them and the whole team. We know we have Canada next. We are going for the win.”

From the beginning of the tie, the large British expat community on these shores made its presence felt in the 3,564 capacity temporary stadium, offering forceful support to the British team as the stadium quickly swelled to over three quarters full. They came with their trumpets, tambourines and sustained support as Raducanu found her feet against Niemeier, a big server who reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2022.

Although Niemeier’s serve led her through the service games, Raducanu was dominant in the neutral rallies, striking the ball with depth and penetration as she forced her opponent to work hard for almost every point and outlast the German in the majority of extended exchanges. She was rewarded for her patience at 3-3 after a sloppy game from Niemeier culminated with her missing a first serve on break point. Raducanu seized the opportunity to face a second serve, slamming a winning forehand return to take the break.

Even though it produced an unhelpful number of double faults, Raducanu’s serve was a notable asset. Down 0-40 in the following game after a few sloppy, impatient errors, Raducanu saved four break points in the game largely through solid serving that she sustained until the final stages of the match. Raducanu finished with 10 aces and her average serve speeds scaling 104mph and 93mph respectively, significantly higher than her usual numbers.

With the first set under her belt, Raducanu’s confidence grew as Niemeier played a poor, error-strewn set. But as the British player served for the match at 5-2, her lack of recent matches caught up for her. She soon found herself at 5-4, having squandered four match points, before finally closing out a strong win. Raducanu is now 4-1 in this competition, having won four singles outings in a row since suffering defeat in her opening match.

“Physically, I felt quite good, especially as I haven’t played a match for so long,” said Raducanu. “It was a good test for me and I think I came through. I’m very happy with how I held my nerve. I’ve obviously been working a little bit in practice on my serve. It was very good in patches but still room for improvement. Looking forward to seeing the areas I can take from this match and work on in my pre-season ready for next year.”

In the second match, Boulter arrived in Malaga after a bruising seven week swing in Asia, where she had to work through a difficult patch before rediscovering her form in the final two weeks of the trip. She continued to radiate confidence on Friday night. After dropping her serve in the opening game, Boulter completely overpowered her veteran opponent to close out an excellent victory.