17:01
2nd sentence
Now it’s up to Martić to open the second half. The first two points are quickly at hand and the band can play again.
17:01
interim conclusion
In her debut for Germany, Eva Lys plays great. The 20-year-old goes to work without nervousness, plays consistently at a high level and seems to surprise her opponent with it. Petra Martić makes too many mistakes, cannot maintain her game over the long term and is struggling.
16:59
Martić – Lys 1:6
Lys grabs it immediately and benefits from the fact that a forehand from Martić again comes into contact with the ground too late. The 1st set goes to Germany!
16:58
Martić – Lys 1:5
But Lys simply cannot be unsettled. Against the attacking opponent, the 20-year-old unpacks the backhand passing ball. The German then effortlessly stops and the forehand can swing through. set ball!
16:57
Martić – Lys 1:5
Consequently, Lys can still serve to win the set. Suddenly, however, Martić turns it up and is now putting pressure on him. 0:30!
16:56
Martić – Lys 1:5
And Lys seizes this opportunity, but is lucky with her forehand that the edge of the net helps her. So Martić has no chance. The German rushes to 5:1.
16:55
Martić – Lys 1:4
But the next mistake is not far away. The linesman does not recognize him, but the chair umpire sees it correctly, which gives Lys a third break chance.
16:54
Martić – Lys 1:4
On the other hand, Martić goes to work briskly, storms forward and executes with the forehand volley ball.
16:53
Martić – Lys 1:4
Then Martić offers a second ball, but she throws it away again with a double fault. Shortly thereafter, the net edge is no longer in league with her. This ball flops back into their court. that means another breakball.
16:51
Martić – Lys 1:4
Another forehand from Lys sails wide. This is the Croatian’s 17th unforced error.
4:50 p.m
Martić – Lys 1:4
Afterwards the Lys plays strongly, only has to play the forehand longline. But now the edge of the net is in her way.
4:50 p.m
Martić – Lys 1:4
While Lys manages largely without mistakes even in the longer rallies, Martić keeps making mistakes and now gets stuck on the net with a backhand. break ball!
16:48
Martić – Lys 1:4
Martić struggles through her service games, again missing a break point – this time with her first double fault.
16:46
Martić – Lys 1:4
Now Martić has to put her experience to the test. But then the 31-year-old is also lucky in a smash. The Croatian hits the edge of the net. The felt ball bounces into the opponent’s field.
16:44
Martić – Lys 1:4
Again, Lys serves superbly. Martić does not get the forehand return. The German holds her service game without any problems and pulls away to 4:1.
16:42
Martić – Lys 1:3
The first serve comes more and more reliably with the young German. Although she then warps a backhand without need, Lys currently does not offer more.
16:40
Martić – Lys 1:3
The whole thing repeats itself. Another forehand from Martić touches down a touch too late. That’s the break, Lys takes a 3-1 lead.
16:39
Martić – Lys 1:2
And the next baseline shot already comes into contact with the ground too late. Suddenly, Martić faces a breakball.
16:38
Martić – Lys 1:2
Martić quickly organizes two game balls again. But then the engine sputters, the 31-year-old makes mistakes from the baseline. So now she has to go through debut.
16:35
Martić – Lys 1:2
Now Martić serves the first ace of the match. And immediately after a service winner, the Croatian catches Lys on the wrong foot.
16:34
Martić – Lys 1:2
Despite the tight situation, Lys pulls through her game and gets a third ball. And the right-hander uses that with a spotlessly clean forehand longline.
16:33
Martić – Lys 1:1
After that, Lys has to run after a stop by Martić. The Croatian then has the opponent’s field open to her forehand.
16:32
Martić – Lys 1:1
And when Lys gets too long afterwards, there is the first breakball. But that doesn’t unsettle her. She fends it off with a strong forehand. After that, the German is successful on the way to the network.
16:31
Martić – Lys 1:1
Then a ball is ready for Lys, but the 20-year-old makes the second double fault in the match. For the first time it’s about debut.
4:30 p.m
Martić – Lys 1:1
Now Lys temporarily silences the band. 30:0! But then she gets a forehand too long. And even after mistakes made by the Germans, music is played.
16:28
Martić – Lys 1:1
The musicians are in action regularly, Matic gets through their game to 15. And after that, the fanfare can last a little longer.
16:26
Martić – Lys 0:1
Every point of the Croatian is celebrated by a brass band with a short musical interlude, which of course takes a lot of getting used to.
16:25
Martić – Lys 0:1
Lys misses the first of her two game balls with a double fault. After that, however, the young German attacks, places her forehand heavily on the sidelines and takes the lead.
16:23
Martić – Lys 0-0
Even after that, Lys shows no signs of nervousness, scores the points on his own initiative, but then also benefits from a forehand that was too long for the opponents.
16:22
Martić – Lys 0-0
Then follows a first longer rally. Martić tries to stage something with a stop. But Lys is there fast enough and pushes her forehand down the line.
16:21
1 sentence
Now Lys opens the match. The first serve comes straight away. The forehand longline that follows shortly after, however, gets caught on the edge of the net.
16:16
coin toss
Now Martić and Lys face off at the net along with chair umpire Cecilia Alberti for choice. The coin falls in favor of the Croatian, who decides to hit back. Then both play a bit.
16:05
The teams
Before the first match, the two teams are usually introduced and welcomed into the hall. In addition to Martić, Croatia’s captain Iva Majoli has called up Ana Konjuh, Tara Würth and Petra Marčinko, who will replace the injured Donna Vekić. Germany’s team boss Rainer Schüttler has also arrived with Jule Niemeier, Anne-Lena Friedsam and Laura Siegemund. Of course, the national anthems are also part of the program before the first match.
15:55
Head 2 Head
The two meet for the first time on the tennis court, which is not entirely surprising given the eleven-year age difference. By the way, both saw the light of day in January, their birthdays are exactly one week apart.
15:45
Martic in the team
Martić has been playing for her country in this competition since 2008. Back then it was still called the Fed Cup. The Croatian has a total of 15 individual matches, of which she won nine. While she only lost one game on clay, she lost five times on hard court. In her previous BJK Cup appearances this year, Martić won three out of four singles.
15:35
Petra Martic
A little in favor of Lys is that Rijeka’s Sportska Dvorana Zamet is played on hard court. Petra Martić is rated more strongly on sand. On this surface she won both of her tournaments on the WTA Tour – in İstanbul 2019 and in Lausanne in July of this year. Of course, the 31-year-old knows how to play tennis well on hard courts, has already reached two finals and recently played in the top eight in Tokyo. At Wimbledon, the number 39 in the world achieved her best major result this season as a round of 16. She only got one lap further in 2019 in Roland Garros. The best world ranking position goes back to 2020, when the right-hander was fourteenth.
15:25
Eva Lys
Eva Lys faces a big task. On her debut for Germany, the 20-year-old has to play against the Croatian number 1. The up-and-coming tennis talent has now reached 123rd place in the world rankings. Lys is not yet seen quite as often on the WTA tour and has to go through the qualifications there regularly. Her first attempts to make it into the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament in this way failed at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows. For the time being, the native of Kiev is celebrating successes on the ITF tour, where she recently played in two finals, won in Trnava and lost in Shrewsbury. The right-hander has meanwhile collected three titles at this level. In the coming year it should go into the top 100 so that places in the main draw of the major tournaments are guaranteed.
15:15
Welcome
Welcome to the Billie Jean King Cup! In the playoffs, between Croatia and Germany, it is about remaining in the world group. The matter will be clarified today and tomorrow in Rijeka. Four singles and one doubles are on the program on these two days. Petra Martić and Eva Lys will start at 4:00 p.m.