The German tennis women suffered a potentially serious setback at their home game in the Billie Jean King Cup and have to worry about staying in the league
The team led by the disappointing German number one Eva Lys surprisingly lost 1:2 against Turkey in the first duel of the play-offs in Ismaning, meaning that the selection of the German Tennis Association (DTB) no longer has control over remaining in the top group.
On Friday evening, Germany’s top player Lys caused the involuntary turnaround: The Hamburg player lost to the strong Zeynep Sönmez after a blackout in the third set 2:6, 6:4, 0:6.
Germany has to beat Belgium
Afterwards, the German doubles Anna-Lena Friedsam and Julie Niemeier also lost 6:2, 2:6, 4:6 against Ayla Aksu and the once again challenged Sönmez. Debutante Ella Seidel started the evening impressively with her effortless 6:1, 6:1 against Berfu Cengiz – but after that too much went wrong.
On Sunday, the DTB selection has to win against Belgium to stay in the league. And that would only be enough if the Turkish team lost against Belgium on Saturday. Only the winner of the group of three can play in the elite next year.
Siegesmund and Maria are missing
At the home game at the Ismaning Tennis Club, Seidel initially appeared nervous during her debut for the BJK team. The Hamburger, who rose from 128th to 85th in the world rankings over the course of the season, had to fight hard for her first service game. Afterwards, Seidel lived up to her role as favorite, repeatedly presenting Cengiz with big tasks with long balls to the baseline. Her opponent, number 431 in the world, quickly could no longer withstand this pressure.
Lys had a similar experience at the beginning of the second game of the day, but unlike her teammate, she immediately received the break. As a result, the 23-year-old gritted her teeth and fought back in the second set – but in the decisive third round, the strong Sönmez was clearly the better player. And with Lys nothing worked anymore.
Anna-Lena Friedsam and Jule Niemeier were no longer able to withstand the resulting pressure in the decisive doubles – the unexpected defeat was perfect.
On the way to staying in the league, Schüttler’s team had already suffered a few setbacks – after the short-term absences of Tatjana Maria and Laura Siegemund, the DTB team is missing two top 50 players.