The Rosary Nadia Podoroska she could not beat the local Viktoria Hruncakova in the second point of the series against Slovakiareason why Argentina closed the first day 1-1 in Bratislava, for the playoffs of the Billie Jean King Cup of tennis female.
After the outstanding victory of the Pergaminense Julia Riera In the first round against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, in two sets, Podoroska, number 78 in the WTA ranking, faced Hruncakova (117)
Despite a good start, the 26-year-old ‘Peque’ from Rosario fell 3-6, 6-3 and 6-3, in one hour and 48 minutes of play. In this way, the series was equal and will be defined tomorrow.
In the first round, Riera, 21 years old and ranked 158th in the WTA world ranking, had beaten Schmiedlova 7-5, 7-5, 71st in the world and winner of three titles on the circuit, two in 2015 and the other in 2018. In this way, the Argentine team took the lead 1-0.
The surface, known as Green Set Cushion, was classified by the ITF as category 2 (out of 5), medium-low speed.
The series will continue tomorrow from 9 in Argentina with the match that will be animated by the number one of each team, Podoroska and Schmiedlova. Then they will face Riera with Hruncakova and finally the doubles point.
For the doubles, the Argentine captain, Mercedes Paz from Tucumán, announced the Buenos Aires players Martina Capurro Taborda and Guillermina Naya, while on the Slovak side there will be Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova, as announced by captain Matej Liptak.
Slovakia, which competed in the final phase of the competition in 2021 and 2022, is currently ranked 11th in the world team ranking, while Argentina is ranked 21st, according to the latest ranking released by the ITF.
The Argentine team reached the playoffs in Bratislava after having qualified in Group I Americas, last April, in Cúcuta, Colombia.
Although the tie is complex, for Argentina it would be an important economic and sporting boost to win the series and qualify for the 2024 Qualifiers.
Source: Ambito
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