France will not keep lasting memories of this final phase of the Billie Jean King Cup in Seville. After their failure against Italy on Wednesday, captain Julien Benneteau’s players faced Germany this Friday in a meeting without any stakes since the two nations were eliminated from the race for the semi-finals. Represented by Clara Burel and Varvara Gracheva in singles, the French women won in an unusual, not to say baroque, scenario: the first dominated Jule Niemeier 6-4, 6-3, while the former Russian player, naturalized last May, only played (and lost) three games before seeing her opponent Tatjana Maria retire, victim of an abdominal injury. In doubles, the Garcia-Mladenovic pair then beat the Niemeier-Siegemund tandem (5-7, 6-3, 10-1).
Burel “wanted to do well”
In the opening singles between the No. 2, we will remember the proud reaction of Burel (61st in the world) after being broken and led 4-2 by an opponent clearly within his reach (162nd) on paper. Victim of a crisis of double faults (15 in total), Niemeier, it is true, greatly facilitated his task. But the Rennaise, Angevine by adoption, knew how to hold her place. “It’s not easy to enter a match without stakes and without rhythm,” she said. Even if it was friendly, I wanted to do well, for this blue jersey and the bench that was growing behind me. »
Once the first set was in her pocket, she only had to display her elegant tennis which allowed her to finish the season at her best ranking, which suggests her upward ambitions for next season. “Being seeded in the Grand Slam would be a great goal,” says Burel, who is working on setting up a new training structure by the end of the year.
This first point in his pocket should make Gracheva’s task easier for his big debut in the blue jersey. The day before, Benneteau had insisted on the importance of this meeting to prepare for the future, which could be written with the 44th player in the world. But he was surely hoping for more than three unfortunate games to familiarize her with his speech on the chair and get her used to this new working environment, she who had never played in the Billie Jean King Cup under her old colors.
“A little tension” for Gracheva
Alas, after seven unforced errors in 17 points, betraying a logical nervousness, Gracheva saw her opponent offer her a hand when changing sides at 3-0 in her favor, victim of an abdominal injury. “Of course there was a little tension when entering the field but that’s normal,” she admitted. I experienced this first like a tennis match, with a job to do and a routine to follow. I was starting to feel more comfortable when Tatjana stopped. It’s frustrating but I’m especially disappointed for her. She deserved better than this difficult situation. Nobody expected that. »
Now perfectly integrated within the group – “everyone made me feel so comfortable that I feel in my place,” she insists – Gracheva intends to repeat the experience in the future, including during the Olympic Games in Paris next year. “Everything will depend on my results and the captain’s decision,” she said. If I play well, he will perhaps renew his confidence in me, otherwise another player will replace me. I never imagined that I would one day be able to compete in the Olympic Games, so of course I would be very happy to participate. But it’s like the BJK Cup, it’s not me who decides but my results. I know what I have to do. »
