Fed Cup 2008

Tutu · Club Coach

Fed Cup 2008

DavidC · Tennis legend

The singles players have improved since last year and done as well as we could reasonably hope but the doubles needs a lot of attention in the next year if we are to compete successfully at this level. We should be able to produce at least one player close to the top 100 in doubles, and the LTA needs to address this as a high priority.

As far as today is concerned we cannot complain about drawing Portugal, who are a lot weaker than us on paper - the worry is what impact will last night's 1am finish have on performances.

Sheddie · administrator

Anne Keothavong d. Ane-Caterine Nogueira 61 76

johnnylad · Tennis legend

Anne!

wolf · Tennis legend

Katie O'Brien d. Magali de Lattre 64 62

Phew. They decided not to play the doubles.

DavidC · Tennis legend

Pleased it ended with a win for Katie - she deserved one after the amount of mental energy she must have put in to be competitive with three top players. Next week will be tough for Anne and Katie after all this effort and drama.

DavidC · Tennis legend

From the LTA site (Joss Rae's blogs in the Fed Cup section are well worth reading as well - especially her account of the attempt to start another Balkan war on day 3! ):

Great Britain beat Portugal 2-0 to avoid relegation and remain in Euro / Africa Zone Group 1

Victories from Anne Keothavong and Katie OBrien ensured the Great Britain Fed Cup team remained in Euro / Africa Zone Group 1 as they defeated Portugal 2-0 in Budapest. The GB team had to win to avoid relegation to Group 2, which would have been harsh as they had played well throughout the week against some particularly tough opponents.

Once again, Anne Keothavong got the team off to a perfect start with a 6-1 7-6(1) victory over Ana-Caterina Nogueira. Anne raced into a 5-0 lead and held her serve to take the first set convincingly. The second set was a different story and the tiredness from having played until 1.30am the previous evening looking like it was beginning to have an effect on Keothavong. Having saved a set point at 4-5, Anne raised her game to force a tie break, which she went on to win comfortably to take the match. The win gave Anne a 100% record with victories in all 4 of her singles rubbers and typified her excellent Fed Cup week.

In the second rubber, British number one Katie OBrien beat Magali De Lattre 6-4 6-2. OBrien took some time to find her rhythm and saved two break points at 4 games all in the first set. Katie didnt look back after that and broke straight away to take the first set before cruising through the second set to take the match. It was a welcome and deserved victory for OBrien who had played well against three highly ranked opponents in the group stage.

So, after a tough week in Budapest the British team remain in Euro / Africa Zone Group 1 and captain Nigel Sears was encouraged by what he had seen:

We needed to survive today as going down to Group 2 would have been a disaster. I feel that the girls performed well throughout the week and we will get straight back to work on strengthening the team for next year. I feel encouraged that the players have improved and I will expect things to accelerate next year.

Nigel Sears, GB Fed Cup Team Captain

-- Edited by DavidC at 16:15, 2008-02-03