Billie Jean King Cup: Maria keeps Germany in the game
Tatjana Maria equalizes the qualifying duel with Brazil at the Billie Jean King Cup in Stuttgart. Everything is still possible for the German tennis women on Saturday.
by SID
last edit: Apr 14, 2023, 11:19 pm
Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria threw up her arms and let her emotions run wild, then celebrated her comeback win with Deutsche Bank. The Bogota winner corrected Anna-Lena Friedsam's expected defeat at the start and put Germany back on track in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Maria, who already had her back against the wall when the score was 3:5, fought her way to a 6:3, 3:6, 7:5 against Laura Pigossi in the second singles and thus scored the 1:1 equalizer in the match Qualifying duel with Brazil. After 2:32 hours, the 35-year-old converted her second match point and thus ensured a decent starting situation before the decisive matches on Saturday (from 2 p.m.).
Mary close to tears
"I could just start crying. It was so emotional and I left my heart on the pitch here," said Maria. "I'm so happy I was able to get this point for Germany. It was incredible."
After successfully defending her title in Bogota, where she celebrated her third tournament victory on the WTA tour, Maria traveled to Stuttgart with a lot of self-confidence. In front of a disappointing backdrop in the sparsely occupied arena, a tight game developed at the beginning. Pigossi, who lost to Maria in the Bogota final in 2022, tried a break early on.
The German number one, however, held back, increasingly wearing down the Brazilian with her typical slice and secured the decisive break to the applause of the satisfied German bench. A little later the first set was won and Maria showed her fist.
But then it got complicated for Maria, who repeatedly went to the net too early and thus brought her opponent back into the game. When the score was 3:4 from the German point of view, Pigossi took her serve for the second time and marched to win the set. Finally, in the deciding set, the tired-looking Maria finally seemed to have run out of breath, but she fought back late.
Friedsam misses surprise
Friedsam had previously missed a surprise at the start despite a strong start. Against the favored world number 14. Beatriz Haddad Maia lost the 29-year-old 6: 3, 4: 6, 3: 6. Friedsam had been surprisingly nominated for the individual by team boss Rainer Schüttler - instead of the weak Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier, who could still be used on Saturday.
The selection of the German Tennis Association (DTB) plays in Stuttgart to qualify for the final tournament with the twelve best national teams in November. The team that gets three wins first wins the duel. On Saturday from 2 p.m. two more singles and – if necessary – a doubles are on the program.