Canadian teen Marina Stakusic breaks out on big stage at Billie Jean King Cup

When longtime tennis coach Mike Thomson started working with Canada's Marina Stakusic during her junior days, he could tell almost immediately that she had tremendous potential.

The telltale sign was the sound the ball made when it came off her racket.

"Everything is in the middle of the racket every single time and that was Marina when she was eight," Thomson said. "She just hit the ball solidly every single time."

Stakusic, now 18, is enjoying a breakout performance this week at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She was a surprise selection for singles play and earned a 6-3, 6-1 upset win over Rebeka Masarova of host Spain in her debut Wednesday.

"I think she handled herself incredibly well when she was under pressure, when her opponent was maybe giving signs of coming back to life," said Sylvain Bruneau, a high-performance consultant with Tennis Canada. "I think she was fabulous in making sure that didn't happen."

Stakusic, from Mississauga, Ont., developed her skills as a youngster at the Eglinton Flats Winter Tennis Club. Thomson has served as tennis director at the west Toronto facility for over two decades.

"Nothing ever got to her," Thomson recalled in a phone interview with The Canadian Press. "She never got mad on a tennis court. Tennis is such a mental game. You have to keep your composure at all times.

"Marina is always composed on the tennis court — always. Right from eight years old."

Stakusic played like a veteran in front of a partisan crowd on Wednesday, showing no signs of jitters on one of the sport's biggest stages. Captain Heidi el Tabakh gave her the nod over more experienced teammates Rebecca Marino and Eugenie Bouchard.

"We knew she was in full confidence mode," Bruneau said. "She had done really