Austria’s women’s tennis suffered their first defeat in the second group game at the Billie Jean King Cup in Europe/Africa Zone I. However, favorite Slovenia won the Megasaray Tennis Academy in the Turkish district town of Serik narrower than expected, 2-1.
The decision was only made in the third set of the doubles, in which Melanie Klaffner (Kornspitz Team Oberösterreich) alongside Sinja Kraus (UTC Fischer Ried) defeated the pairing Kaja Juvan/Tamara Zidansek 6:2, 4:6, 2:6 was left behind. Barbara Haas (Kornspitz Team OÖ) did not play after her comeback on Monday, but she cheered on her colleagues from the stands. “We felt really comfortable, you can build on that,” said Klaffner.
The 31-year-old from Weyer has repeatedly been thrown back by injuries in the past, and is currently ranked 585th in the world.
“It was very, very close. We can still be proud of ourselves,” added Sinja Kraus (WRL No. 402). The 19-year-old Viennese was previously inferior to Juvan 1: 6, 4: 6.
The sensation of the day was delivered by Julia Grabher (WRL No. 198), who dispatched number 27 in the world, Zidansek, 6: 3, 6: 3. “Julia played great tennis. The overall result hurts, because if we had won we could have even played for promotion,” said ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer. Today the red-white-red selection is the favorite against Georgia.
Source: Nachrichten
