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LONDON — Naomi Osaka put Japan a step away from reaching the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva. The four-time Grand Slam champion's win in Tokyo on Friday followed Nao Hibino's 6-1, 6-0 victory over Anna Danilina to give Japan a 2-0 lead in the qualifying round for the women's team competition. Iga Swiatek helped Poland go ahead 2-0 against Switzerland, and Emma Raducanu evened things at 1-all for Britain against France. The BJK Cup Finals will be held in Spain in November. The winners in qualifying will join Canada, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic in the Finals.
