After the impressive victory against Brazil, Jule Niemeier and Co. stormed the press conference of team boss Rainer Schüttler and final winner Anna-Lena Friedsam. The water splashed in the press room of the Porsche Arena after Germany’s tennis women against the world number 14. Beatriz Haddad Maia led the South Americans 3-1 and thus qualified for the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.
“I’m very proud,” said Schüttler, who was once again spot on with his personnel decisions. “It’s a great team, they’re all good friends, which makes it nice to work with them,” said the ex-professional.
Friedsam: “Are a good team in general”
The big star is missing from the team because Angelique Kerber has just taken a baby break and Andrea Petkovic has ended her career. This has made it more difficult to sell tickets, which is why the Porsche Arena was only very sparsely occupied on Friday and Saturday. But it is also the secret of success.
“We’re such a good team across the board that we have a lot of options for variation,” said Friedsam. “Others don’t have that much of a difference. They often only have one top player, who then takes all the pressure. On the other hand, we can trust each other.”
Against Brazil, Schüttler put top player Jule Niemeier on the bench because of her form crisis on the first day. Tatjana Maria, who had traveled to Stuttgart with the confidence of winning the tournament in Bogotá, played instead. When Maria was tired on Saturday after her victorious marathon match the night before, Niemeier came into action. A move that worked out with the 7: 6 (7: 3), 3: 6, 6: 2 of the 23-year-old from Dortmund in the top singles against Haddad Maia. Friedsam then provided the decisive point with a clear 6:1, 6:0 against Laura Pigossi.
The ticket for the finals has been purchased
The ticket for the finals from November 7th to 12th is thus solved. For the second time after 2021, when in Prague after two defeats it was already over after the group stage. It should be different this time, the win against Brazil made you want more. “We don’t need to hide from anyone,” Friedsam said.
Shaker warned not to become “too euphoric”. “But I always say: If you didn’t dream, you would be wrong. You have to have goals and dreams. And you have to work hard to try to achieve them,” said the ex-professional, who was in the final in 2003 of the Australian Open.
The next goal for Niemeier and Co. is the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Above all, Niemeier finally wants to win a match there again on the WTA tour. So far she has only been able to win two out of 13 games in tournaments. “I can’t say yet whether this is the turning point, but of course I’m trying to keep the momentum going,” said the German number one. Schüttler still has a lot of confidence in her. “It was very important for Jule to realize that she could beat top players,” said the team manager. “I am sure that Jule will go her own way.”
