Mika Stojsavljevic stars on debut to give GB surprise Billie Jean King Cup lead against Australia

Teenager Mika Stojsavljevic enjoyed a perfect Billie Jean King Cup debut as she swept aside a player ranked over 200 places above her to give Great Britain a surprise lead over Australia in Melbourne. The 17-year-old, who is ranked 275th in the world, beat Talia Gibson - another talented young player - 7-6(4) 7-5 in the singles opener of the three-match qualifying tie. Gibson has shot up the rankings to 56th in the world after an excellent start to her season and was the heavy favourite on John Cain Arena, although both players were making their national team debuts.

The 21-year-old came through qualifying and beat three top-20 players in a dream run to the Indian Wells quarter-finals, before beating another two including former world No 1 Naomi Osaka to make the round of 16 at the Miami Open. But Stojsavljevic was more than a match for her and the home crowd in Melbourne, serving strongly, going up 3-1 in the first set and recovering from letting that lead slip to a win a tie-break. The second set was a similar story as Stojsavljevic stormed to a 5-2 lead before being pegged back to 5-5 with two breaks of serve going against her.

But she served three aces and saved five break points in a crucial game, before going on to break Gibson again and convert her first match point. The teenager enjoyed an emotional win to put GB in the driving seat in Melbourne (Getty Images for Billie Jean Kin) She was overcome with emotion afterwards and said: “It feels amazing. I can't believe it.

I can't even remember the last point. I had amazing support from the side and managed to get through. “Going into it, I knew she'd have the home ground.