Hopp or top, the bet is valid: What about the future of German women’s tennis? In the short term, this Friday and Saturday is primarily about preventing relegation from the group of the best nations for the first time and also qualifying for the world group of the Billie Jean King Cup next year, which was called the Fed Cup until 2019.
In addition, the relegation game against the Croatians in Rijeka will provide fresh indications of the extent to which the younger generation can preserve something of the legacy of their prominent predecessors Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic and their ilk.
The 23-year-old proved that Jule Niemeier has what it takes to advance to the top of the world by reaching the quarter-finals in Wimbledon and taking part in the final a few weeks ago in the Romanian town of Cluj-Napoca. But will she also be able to bear the burden of leading the German team as number one to stay in the league?
So far, Niemeier has only played twice in doubles in the Billie Jean King Cup. She has shown that she can play “good tennis” on the big stages, said the Dortmund resident, as usual, fearlessly. She meets Donna Vekic in the second singles this Friday.
Lys starts things off
The international match will be opened by a colleague who is three years younger and completely inexperienced in large-scale operations, Eva Lys from Hamburg, who has to deal with Croatia’s top player Martic (4 p.m., Tennis Channel). The native Ukrainian is not afraid of her debut either.
With all the joy – “You can’t prepare for the feelings you have on your debut,” said Lys, who mainly collects world ranking points in lower-class ITF tournaments and has thus made it to 123rd place after a few recent successes.
Niemeier is also currently higher than ever in the rankings, namely 61st place. If points had been awarded in Wimbledon in the summer, her progress would have been clearer. “Jule is on the way up, has become much more stable and can beat anyone,” says team captain Rainer Schüttler.
The former tennis pro sees the change in personnel as a result of Kerber’s pregnancy and Petkovic’s career end as a nice challenge: “The time has come and the girls are ready and having fun.” The Croatians have the pressure to go into the game as favourites. Martic (Rank 39) and Vekic (69) appear stronger on paper. They could cloud German hopes for the future a little.
