Fed Cup 2011: Slovakia vs. Germany

The German Fed Cup team has started its clash against Slovakia with a win and a draw. The encounter with the Slovak women’s team is seen as a pivotal match for women’s tennis in Germany, which has recently been struggling badly.

After the first day of Fed Cup play—the women’s equivalent of the men’s Davis Cup—the teams from Slovakia and Germany are tied at 1–1. Now is the time to seize the opportunity: the long shadow of Germany’s exceptional player Steffi Graf still looms over German women’s tennis. None of her successors has come close to matching the number of achievements and titles she amassed. A win against Slovakia would be an important step toward bringing German women’s tennis back into the public eye. And given the current form of the German women, their chances are not bad at all.

The German “national team players” arrived as favorites for the Fed Cup tie against Slovakia. German players Andrea Petkovic and Julia Görges made an impression with strong results at the Grand Slam in Melbourne, Australia, and currently rank 24th and 34th in the world rankings. Their Slovak opponents, Polona Hercog and Masa Zec-Peskiric, are ranked 47th and 147th. In the opening match of the Fed Cup tie between Germany and Slovakia , Andrea Petkovic duly lived up to her favorite status, comfortably beating Zec-Peskiric in two sets, 6–3, 6–4, to earn Germany its first point. In the following match, however, Julia Görges lost to Hercog in straight sets, 5–7, 4–6, allowing the Slovaks to draw level.

The World Group II tie will be decided today, Sunday, with the next two singles matches and the doubles. The winner will then play for a place in World Group I for 2012.