Tie after first day
Tatjana Maria keeps DTB women on course with a show of strength
04/14/2023, 11:13 p.m
After a long day of tennis everything is still possible for the German tennis players in the Billie Jean King Cup. Especially because Tatjana Maria gets everything out of herself. She braces herself against the Brazilian Laura Pigossi with all her might.
Thanks to Tatjana Maria, the German tennis players can continue to hope for a place in the final round of the Billie Jean King Cup. Five days after winning the tournament in Bogotá, Colombia, the 35-year-old beat Brazilian Laura Pigossi 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in Stuttgart on Friday evening after a hard fight, equalizing 1-1 against the South Americans. Maria used her second match ball after 2:32 hours after Pigossi had already served to win the match at a score of 5:4 from her point of view.
At the start, Anna-Lena Friedsam had to admit defeat 6:3, 4:6, 3:6 despite a convincing performance by the Brazilian top player Beatriz Haddad Maia. The world number 14. converted her first match point after 2:24 hours. The decision will be made on Saturday. Then Maria meets Haddad Maia in the top singles from 2:00 p.m. Then Friedsam and Pigossi play against each other. However, changes are still possible. If no decision has been made after the singles, the doubles decides on the progress.
“I could start to cry,” said Maria after the effort in the winner’s interview on the pitch. “I fought, fought and fought and put my heart in the field. I really wanted that point for Germany.”
Disappointing audience figures in Stuttgart
In front of only around 1000 spectators in the Porsche Arena, Maria had a lot of trouble with the largely unknown Pigossi. The Swabian who lives in Florida was tired after the long journey from Colombia to Stuttgart. She defended her title in Bogotá on Sunday and celebrated the third tournament win of her career. After that she traveled directly to Stuttgart.
After initial difficulties, a break against Pigossi in the first set was enough for her to make it 3-1 to confidently win the first set. In the second round, Maria had to fight a lot more and was a break behind early on. The 35-year-old lacked freshness, she lost the thread more and more. Although she took service from Pigossi immediately afterwards, the longer the game lasted, the more tired Maria seemed.
The Brazilian, on the other hand, played carefree and managed to equalize the set. In the decisive round, Maria looked like the loser. Pigossi served to win, but Maria managed the break out of nowhere and finally the turnaround.
Friedsam had previously played well against Haddad Maia, but the courageous performance was not enough for a surprise. “I gave everything, but in the end she just played really well,” said Friedsam. She started carefree and powerful and determined what happened. After just 35 minutes, the 29-year-old took the first set. Friedsam, who was somewhat surprisingly given preference over the German top player Jule Niemeier, who was in a sporting crisis this year, was also equal for a long time in the second round. Haddad Maia improved significantly and managed to equalize the set. Although Friedsam fought back against defeat in the third set, Haddad Maria quickly pulled away to 4-0 and gave Brazil the lead.