Tennis: the Blues already have their backs against the wall in the Billie Jean King Cup after their defeat against Italy

2023-11-08 19:42:24

French tennis players are looking for a miracle… The classified ad will soon appear on the walls of the Sevillian Cartuja stadium. Julien Benneteau’s Bleues actually stumbled in their first group match against Italy in the final phase of the Billie Jean King Cup.

After Alizé Cornet, defeated by Trevisan (2-6, 6-2, 6-2), Caroline Garcia also lost against the Transalpine Paolini (7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4). A match reflecting the season of the No. 1 French, which faltered in all the key moments. In the deciding game of the first set, the Lyonnaise let four set points slip away.

Then she led 5-4 40-15 in the second before seeing her opponent come back to 5-5 and then winning despite everything. In the last set, she was in the lead and led 4-2 before making more mistakes and losing the last four games of the match.

???????? ITALY 2 – France 0 ????????

It doesn’t start off well for the Blues in Seville with an inaugural defeat against the Italians

Trevisan ???? Cornet 2-6 6-2 6-2
Paolini ???? Garcia 7-6 5-7 6-4

(???? @BJKCup) pic.twitter.com/lBBOk5uQav

— We Are Tennis France (@WeAreTennisFR) November 8, 2023

Cornet (118th) was preferred to the neo-French Varvara Gracheva (44th) to launch hostilities because she had never experienced defeat against Trevisan. But for her 27th selection, the Niçoise faltered physically…

At the end of the afternoon, the Garcia/Mladenovic pair allowed Les Bleues not to return to the hotel completely empty-handed by beating the Cocciaretto/Trevisan duo in the super tie-break (5-7, 6-2, 10- 6).

The competition has barely started and France already has its back against the wall with a view to qualifying for the semi-finals. His fate could even be sealed on Thursday without having to set foot on the court. Italy faces Germany, the third nation in Pool D.

If the Italians win, they will already be in the last four before the France-Germany scheduled for Friday morning from 10 a.m. in the south of Spain. Benneteau and her players will therefore be following with attention and excitement the performances of the Germans, led by Tatjana Maria (57th) and Laura Siegemund, who has just won the WTA Masters in doubles.

If Germany wins against Italy and if France then beats Germany – which is starting to make a lot of ifs – the three countries would be decided by the number of matches won. Hence the importance of the doubles contested this Wednesday at the end of the afternoon between French and Italian women.