tennis
Siegemund loses a hard-fought match in Stuttgart
Lost in Stuttgart: Laura Siegemund. photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
Siegemund led the German tennis women to the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup last weekend. In Stuttgart she fights back from behind but has to say goodbye early.
Despite a strong fighting performance, the former winner is Laura Siegemund was the next German player eliminated in the first round of the clay court tennis tournament in Stuttgart.
The Metzinger came back from a set and 3:5 down against Marta Kostjuk, but in the end had to admit defeat to the Ukrainian 3:6, 7:6 (7:4), 4:6. The day before, it had already been over for Tatjana Maria from Bad Saulgau.
Last weekend, the two Swabians led the German tennis team to the final round of the Billie Jean King Cup. Siegemund contributed two points to advance in the national competition in Brazil.
Up and down in the third round
Against Kostjuk she initially had problems finding her rhythm. From the German point of view, a close ball when the score was 3:5 was helpful for turning things around in the second set. Referee Meruyert Kaukeyeva climbed out of her chair and gave the ball a good push, thus deciding the point in Siegemund’s favor. Instead of match point for Kostjuk, there was match point for Siegemund, who made up the deficit and deservedly won the tiebreak. With ups and downs in the third round, Siegemund was behind again and equalized to 4:4. But after 3:09 hours she was beaten.
In 2017, the local amateur surprisingly won the title in Stuttgart and thus celebrated her greatest singles success. In 2016 she lost the final against Angelique Kerber. Kerber will be competing in a German tournament in Stuttgart for the first time since her maternity leave. On Wednesday evening, the former Wimbledon champion will face the British Emma Raducanu. Kerber, Siegemund and Maria are the only German participants in the main draw.