Hackney’s Anne Keothavong praised her top trumps Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart for rising to the challenge to help Lexus Great Britain overcome Sweden and secure a place in the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

After debutant Jodie Burrage suffered a surprise straight sets (6-4, 6-1) defeat to Kajsa Rinaldo Persson - the world number 372 ranked 279 places below the British number two - Boulter levelled the tie on day one after convincingly cruising past world number 509 Caijsa Hennemann 6-2, 6-1.

British number one and world number 52 Boulter, 27, had claimed her first major WTA title at Nottingham in June after beating Burrage, 24, and returned to the Copper Box Arena on Sunday to defeat Persson 7-6, 6-1.

Hampstead's Dart was then given a late call and huge task to wrap up victory for the hosts due to Burrage unable to play in her reverse singles rubber against Caijsa Hennemann.

And the 27-year-old, who began playing tennis at the tender age of seven at Cumberland LTC, got the job done and dusted after impressively dispatching the 22-year-old Stockholm native, much to the delight of Keothavong, who said she had no hesitation in bringing her fellow North Londoner on.

“As captain of course I want us to do well and I want players to put in good performances and do themselves proud, which Katie and Harriet did,” said 40-year-old Keothavong, the former British number one.

“They were able to rise to the challenge.

“The Swedish team put up a fantastic fight. I think their players really played a lot better than their rankings and challenged our players.

"We knew coming into this tie there was no room for complacency, we had to feel as prepared as possible. Katie and Harriet, they thrived off the energy in this arena. The home support really carries this team and we absolutely love it.”

It’s the second time Hackney's Keothavong has overseen a GB victory at the Copper Box, after her troops defeated a world-class Kazakhstan outfit in April 2019.

And she thanked the local fans for coming to the venue again, adding: “When I stand here on this court it just fills my heart with so much joy to see all of you who’ve made the time and the effort to come out and support British women’s tennis.

“Having been involved in this game for so long I just think women’s tennis in this country has come so far and this team carry themselves so well and we’ve got fantastic role models.

“I hope all you young kids here have felt inspired and want to be part of this team because it’s really is so special to captain them.”

GB join Belgium, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine in next April’s qualifying round to reach the 2024 BJK Cup finals.