Canadian teen Marina Stakusic hails ‘idol’ Novak Djokovic for his elite mentality and reciprocates it as she fires Canada in the BJK Cup semis for the second time in history

Marina Stakusic, in a surprising turn of events in the opening rounds of the Billie Jean King Cup, caused a major upset to win over Rebeka Masarova to help Canada strengthen their position in this tournament.

After her impressive breakthrough at the Bille Jean King Cup, Marina Stakusic was asked about her idols growing up. To this, the Canadian replied by saying:

My idol was Djokovic. His mentality on court, the way he can always, even if it seems he might lose, figure out a way to win. He was definitely my idol. 

In an interview after her successful match, Marina Stakusic revealed how she used to idolize the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic. The Canadian teen also stated that she liked the Serbian’s on-court mentality and ability to turn a bad match in his favor.

The 18-year-old tennis professional managed to win the biggest win of her career, defeating Spanish Rebeka Masarova in straight sets to give Canada a 3-0 victory over their Spanish opponents. Marina Stakusic, ranked 258th in the world, managed to overcome World No. 65 in the Billie Jean King Cup. Notably, this is the first time the Canadian has defeated someone in the top 100 of the WTA rankings.

Marina Stakusic boosts Canada’s position at the ongoing Billie Jean King Cup

Canadian Marina Stakusic gave her team an excellent head start as she caused a major upset to defeat Rebeka Masarova in straight sets to lead Canada to a 3-0 victory over Spain. She was in full control against the 65th-ranked Spaniard and showed no signs of nervousness, playing the biggest match of her career. 

Marina overcame her opponent in 69 minutes to win the match 6-3, 6-1. Her teammate, 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, also secured another victory in a close 3-set thriller against Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Canada will continue the round-robin play against their next opponent, Poland. The 12 teams in the Billie Jean King Cup finals will compete in four round-robin groups, and the winners will advance to the semi-finals.

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