TENNIS FEDCUP 2015 – Last week-end Germany won their first round FedCup 2015 tie 4-1 against Australia in Stuttgart. After losing the 2014 final to the Czech Republic, Barbara Rittner’s team are aiming to bring home the title this year.
Some see Stuttgart as one of Germany’s secret strongholds of sport in general and tennis in particular. This refers not only to logistics as i.e. adjacent to Neckarparkstadion and German Bundesliga you’ll find Porsche Arena, which not only hosts the WTA Ladies Event Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in April but has also been home of several FedCup-home ties – but also to the number of high-class tennis events as also the ATP-men’s tournament MercedesCup is staged there.
So during the second weekend of February not only German Soccer Bundesliga was facing the Southern German derby VFB Stuttgart vs Bayern München (which left Pep Guardiola taking three more points back to Munich) but also right next door the German Tennis Ladies played their first FedCup tie this season against Australia. After coming in second in 2014 in a thrilling yet a little disapponting final in Prague, German coach Barbara Rittner and her team were off to secure a good start into this year’s competition. Day one saw as opener the German No. 1 Angelique Kerber with a solid performance against her Australian oponent Jarmila Gajdosova that however was not enough to bring the lead. After two years of injuries and bad luck, Gajdosova showed a brilliant performance in Porsche Arena Stuttgart, thus leaving Kerber unable to come to terms with the pressure and high expectations in her first home-match, so the Australian made it in three sets 4-6 6-2 6-4 – giving her team the lead.
Much to the pleasure of the German fans Angelique Kerber got back to winning ways on Sunday. Much improved when taking on Samantha Stosur in the top match between the two No. 1s, she was in command throughout against the former grand slam champion when winning 6-2 6-4 in front of a 4000 crowd. “I went out onto court and wanted to show that I can do better,” said the Porsche Brand Ambassador. “And with the support of the fantastic crowd, I delivered.”
That the German team was able to go 2-1 up was also and foremost down to Andrea Petkovic. In a nail-biting three-hour tennis thriller, the German overcame Samantha Stosur 6-4 3-6 and 12-10 in the second match on Saturday that way keeping Porsche Team Germany in the running for a semi-final place. “It was one of the matches of my career and one I will have in my head for ever,” Petkovic said after her gala performance on Centre Court in Stuttgart. Congratulated by Steffi Graf from distant Las Vegas, Andrea Petkovic again produced the goods on Sunday, decision day. In another pulsating rubber, she eventually defeated Jarmila Gajdosova 6-3 3-6 8-6 to clinch Germany a place in the semi-final against Russia.
In the final doubles, Germany’s Julia Görges and Sabine Lisicki beat Casey Dellacqua and Olivia Rogowska 6-7 7-6 10-6 and so secured the 4-1 win of the rubber. “I’m incredibly proud of my players,” said team captain Barbara Rittner who went on to thank the Stuttgart crowd for their fantastic support: “We just can’t imagine playing anywhere else.”
So the German FedCup team is well on track, something that cannot be said for the men’s Davis Cup team. Shortly after coming back from the Australian Open, Carsten Arriens was ‘released’ from his post as team-coach. Not even three weeks before their first round tie against France (again in Frankfurt where the whole desaster started last year) the team is pretty much left alone … as so far, a follower into this position could has not been found.
