Slovenia's fourth victory of the week was enough to guarantee the team a place in November's Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Play-offs, following a successful campaign at the Europe/Africa Group I event in Antalya, Turkey.
Straight-sets singles victories for Pia Lovric and Kaja Juvan, over Isabella Shinikova and Viktoriya Tomova respectively, saw Slovenia defeat Bulgaria on Thursday. The win means that Slovenia cannot be caught at the top of Pool B, with the team having defeated both Croatia and Austria this week, and therefore guaranteed to finish above those two sides due to a superior head-to-head record.
For their part, Croatia and Austria both kept themselves in the hunt for promotion with victories on Thursday, with Croatia easing to a 3-0 win over Georgia while Austria overcame Sweden 2-1. The match-up between those two teams on Friday will now determine which team finishes in second place in Pool B, with the two pool runners-up due to play-off for the third and final promotion spot.
In Pool A, Hungary edged past Serbia to leave themselves in pole position, with Anna Bondar and Panna Udvardy defeating Aleksandra Krunic and Dejana Radanovic in a decisive doubles match. Denmark earned their first win of the week with a 2-1 triumph over Estonia, while hosts Turkey rested ahead of the final day of pool stage action on Friday.
In Asia/Oceania Group I, which is being played at the same venue, China, P.R. and Japan both maintained their perfect records, with China recording a narrow 2-1 win over Korea, Republic, while Japan recorded a third consecutive 3-0 win of the week, adding New Zealand to their list of victims.
Elsewhere, India got off the mark against Indonesia, recording a 2-1 win - their first of the week - which is likely to prove crucial in the battle to avoid relegation.
At the Americas Group I event in Salinas, Ecuador, Brazil defeated Argentina 2-1 to take the lead in Pool A, while Colombia bounced back from an opening day defeat to Argentina to record a 3-0 victory over Guatemala.
Mexico also enjoyed a successful second day, cruising to a 3-0 win over hosts Ecuador to move to the top of Pool B. In the other tie in that pool, Chile also secured a 3-0 victory against Paraguay to keep themselves in the hunt for promotion.
