Czech tennis players play with Great Britain after the first day of the Billie Jean King Cup qualification in Prague in a 1: 1 draw. In the first singles, Markéta Vondroušová succeeded on the Švanice clay, declassifying Harriet Dartová 6: 1 and 6: 0. Tereza Martincová then did not use her chances against the world twelve Emma Raducanuová and lost twice 5: 7 with the surprising winner of last year’s US Open.
“The score is 1: 1, the favorites won, but we were definitely closer to the second point than Great Britain,” said Czech captain Petr Pála after the opening day. “It turned out as one hoped it would happen. That it would be an easy first match and a difficult second for the opponent,” he said.
Team leaders Vondroušová and Raducanuová will play the Saturday program from 11:30. Then Martincová and Dartová should play. The match may be decided by a doubles, in which the Czech captain Petr Pála reported 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtová with Maria Bouzková. Nominations for Saturday’s matches can be changed. Karolína Muchová is also part of the Czech team.
“I expect Markéta to play the first match,” Pála said clearly that Vondroušová should start singles on Saturday as well. The position of the second one is yet to be decided. “I don’t know, I want to get around the girls. We have to make an agreement. It will depend on whether the match goes to 1: 2 or 2: 1. There are more of those variants,” said Pála. British captain Anne Keothavong will also decide on a possible change on the day of the match.
In the first game, the nervous Vondroušová made two double mistakes and lost her service. She lost in the second game 15:40, but then the British helped her with a double mistake. And another change brought a reversal – Vondroušová fell while catching the ball, but the opponent hit the net instead of a completely exposed court.
Since then, the Czech tennis player has controlled the development and lost only five exchanges in the first set. She applauded the galleries of a small center with her favorite shorts, even during a opponent’s breakball, or with a successful lob and smash. The match with the 101st player in the world was decided in 55 minutes by winning twelve games in a row.
“At first there was a lot of nervousness, but then I got into the match. I really enjoy it here. It doesn’t often happen that we play at Štvanice, so it’s great,” said Vondroušová, 22, who improved her balance in the team competition. for six wins against a single defeat.
Martincová had a setball in the team competition in the first set team competition. At 5: 4, however, the net hit and she lost a hundred. In the second she led 4: 1, but did not keep the lead of two breaks. In the long ninth game she had three more breakballs, she failed and she made more mistakes in the end.
“I am not satisfied because I was expecting a completely different match. I was preparing for it differently. I expected it to be faster on the part of my opponent,” Martincová said. “Unfortunately I didn’t take the chance and it didn’t work out for me. When I was on top, Emma played great balls,” she said.
The winners of the Czech-British duel will advance to the final tournament, which is planned for an as yet undetermined place on November 8-13.
Qualifications of the Billie Jean King Cup, World Championship of Women’s Tennis Teams in Prague:
CR – Great Britain 1: 1 after the first day
Vondroušová – Dartova 6: 1, 6: 0, Martincová – Raducanu 5: 7, 5: 7.
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