In Prague and not in Budapest, in the hall and not on clay and 19 months later than planned, the final tournament of the women’s team competition will take place. The former Fed Cup is presented in a new format and under a new name. Twelve teams compete in four groups of three in the preliminary round, in which only the group winners qualify for the semi-finals on Friday. The successor to France, which won the last Fed Cup event in 2019, will be chosen in the final on Saturday.
“The starting position is open,” says the Swiss team captain Heinz Günthardt. “Many teams can calculate their chances.” The Swiss quartet with Belinda Bencic, Jil Teichmann, Viktorija Golubic and Stefanie Vögele also traveled with ambitions to Prague from all directions. “As a team, we believe that we are good enough to win the cup,” says Günthardt.
According to the Zurich resident, almost all teams are more or less on the same level. “If a qualifier wins the US Open, that also says something about the starting position for the Billie Jean King Cup,” said Günthardt, who has been captain since 2012. In addition, many top players such as world number 1 Ashleigh Barty, Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, Karolina Pliskova or Indian Wells winner Paula Badosa stay away from the event.
Switzerland, on the other hand, can compete with the best line-up in Prague after Belinda Bencic has reported fit again. The Olympic champion injured her knee at the Chicago tournament in early October and has not played a game since. “But she played a lot this year and has so much experience that she won’t need long to get back into top form,” Günthardt is convinced.
There are also question marks about the form of Jil Teichmann, Viktorija Golubic and Stefanie Vögele, as all three have rarely been able to convince on the tour recently. “As far as timing is concerned, there were certainly other moments this year when we would have been in better shape,” said Günthardt. Nevertheless, the 62-year-old has complete confidence in his team. “Vicky has often played very well in the Fed Cup and Jil is very dangerous once she finds her way into a tournament.”
The team spirit is the big plus of the team that has grown together over the years and set itself the goal of winning the Fed Cup a few years ago. “That is ambitious,” says Günthardt. “But we have a very good and balanced team, two good singles, a good doubles and are on par with everyone else.” Only once, in 1998 in Geneva, Swiss Tennis came close to the title when Martina Hingis and Patty Schnyder lost 3-2 in the final in Spain.
The favorite for the title is the Czech team, which Switzerland will meet in their second group game on Thursday. Petr Pala’s team has won six of the last nine events and has a home advantage in the O2 Arena. And although Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova are missing, the team led by French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova has a strong line-up. The outsider in the group is Germany, which has only one top 50 player with Angelique Kerber. (sda)
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