Julien Benneteau on BJK-Cup: "Will be a flop"
Before the start of the Billie Jean King Cup, Julien Benneteau was extremely critical of one fact about the international match: the start times.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Oct 05, 2021, 07:55 pm
The first edition of the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly Fed Cup - today under a new name, is not a lucky star. In addition to the adjustment of the tournament format to the reformed Davis Cup, which not only brought positive reactions to light, it is in particular the date that causes problems for the cup. Just four days after the end of the international match on November 6th, the WTA Finals are already starting in Guadalajara, Mexico. For many top players, this is a reason to skip the Billie Jean King Cup in order to focus on the season finale.
In fact, only six players from the top 20 were nominated by their team captains for the team event in Prague, with Ash Barty and Aryna Sabalenka, the two best players in the WTA world rankings will definitely not start. For the team boss of the French women, however, a completely different aspect stands out in particular: the start times. "I know it will be a flop. I will prepare you for it. The weekend can be different. It's up to us to look for this atmosphere. Anyone who thinks Monday and Tuesday morning will be extraordinary is completely wrong ", quoted Tennis Actu Julien Benneteau.
The teams are formed
The first team fights will start at 10:30 in the morning, a start time that will hardly ensure full ranks, Benneteau is convinced. One more reason for the captain of Team France to aim for a place in the semi-finals, because Benneteau also knows: "The weekend could be different." In the sense of fuller ranks.
Clara Burel, Alize Cornet, Fiona Ferro and Caroline Garcia, who were nominated by Julien Benneteau for the Billie Jean King Cup, should ensure a successful run from a French perspective. Team Germany will start in Prague with Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, Anna-Lena Friedsam and the two youngsters Jule Niemeier and Nastasja Schunk , especially the Czech women (Barbora Krejcikova, Marketa Vondrousova, Tereza Martincova), Russia (Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova) and Switzerland (Belinda Bencic, Jil Teichmann, Viktoria Golubic) have good chances.