Without their top player, the women of the German Tennis Association maintain their place in the world group of the Billie Jean King Cup. In Croatia, the team boss has a surprising idea - and it works at the crucial moment.
The German tennis women will also be part of the world group in the Billie Jean King Cup next year. Team boss Rainer Schüttler's team surprisingly won the playoff game in Croatia 3-1 without Angelique Kerber missing because of her pregnancy and Andrea Petkovic, who has resigned, and thus avoided relegation.
Anna-Lena Friedsam got the decisive third point in Rijeka. The 28-year-old won against the only 16-year-old Petra Marcinko 6: 4, 6: 1 and thus celebrated a perfect individual debut for Germany. Jule Niemeier had previously beaten Ana Konjuh 6-2, 6-1, giving the German team the lead. After the first day it was 1:1.
Friedsam was surprisingly given preference over Eva Lys by Schüttler. The 20-year-old from Hamburg unexpectedly won in two sets at her team premiere against Croatian number one Petra Martic on Friday and showed a very strong performance. Nevertheless, Schüttler relied on the more experienced Friedsam. "We think it's the better matchup," the ex-pro explained the surprising change. And Friedsam justified the trust. Marcinko was able to keep up in the first set, but Friedsam was unstoppable in the second set.
Previously, Niemeier had celebrated her first individual victory for Germany. The German number one improved significantly one day after the clear defeat against Marcinko and converted their first match point after 1:21 hours. Konjuh was only short-term nominated for the Croatian number one Petra Martic.
