A nightmare opening day failed to derail Romania as they clinched both singles wins against Great Britain on Sunday to be promoted to the world group of the Fed Cup.
The tie between the two countries has been overshadowed by controversy. Ilie Nastase’s unsportsmanlike antics resulted in his removal from the tie. Then Saturday’s match between Johanna Konta and Sorana Cirstea was halted for 20-minutes as the Brit began to cry, citing intimidation from the crowd. The incident prompted a fierce response from a sceptical Cirstea, who accused Konta of ‘exaggerating’ the situation.
In the wake of Saturday’s mayhem, both teams held their breath as they resumed their clash in Constanta on Sunday. To the relief of the organisers, there was no swearing, no crying and no ITF statement regarding behaviour. Instead, it was a Romanian jubilation.
Simona Halep got the hosts off to a solid start with a clinical 6-1, 6-3, win over Johanna Konta. The former French Open finalist illustrated her best tennis with an array of outstanding shots, providing the British camp with a lot of food for thought. It was evident that yesterday’s fiasco had fired up Halep, who won 88% of her second service points.
Halep’s fighting spirit continued beyond the completion of her match. Addressing the fact that she is yet to defeat Konta on the WTA Tour, the world No.5 said she was unsurprised by her one-sided triumph.
“I expected it to be on clay like that. Actually, every time I played her I was dominating the match, but I couldn’t finish. And today I did everything. I stayed focused and I was very motivated after yesterday.” Said Halep.
“I’m really motivated to win this tie.” She added.
Begu seals victory
Securing the unassailable 3-1 lead for Romania was Irina-Camelia Begu, who recently reached the quarterfinals of the Volvo Open in Charleston. Facing Britain’s Heather Watson, the 26-year-old came through a tense 6-4, 7-5, encounter. The match featured both players at their best and worst with a total of 22 breakpoints occurring. Ultimately, it was Begu’s gutsy approached that secure her victory after over two hours of play.
“Obviously there was a lot of pressure.” Begu said following her win. “I didn’t play my best tennis, but I think it doesn’t matter at the end. I just wanted to win to show the people that we (Romania) are really strong.”
The frosty relationship between the two countries shows no signs of healing soon. Shortly after Begu’s triumph, she didn’t shake hands with Watson or any of the British team. A somewhat fitting way to sum up a highly animated tie.
Whilst Romania head back into the World Group, Great Britain once again return to the Europe/Africa zone. The Brit’s hasn’t progressed to the main stage of the Fed Cup since 1993.
