Billie Jean King’s Cup 2021: What does Belinda Benčičová say after the final? (reactions) – SME.sk

PRAGUE. The Russians came to the press conference with a big smile and joy, but after a few minutes they became serious. At other times, the cheerful and immediate Swiss had tears in their eyes and were angry.

The loss of Switzerland to the Russian Tennis Federation in the final of the Billie Jean King Cup than what happened on the court was affected by what happened outside of him.

The Russians announced a change in the nomination fifteen minutes before the match. That is, at the cut-off time.

“The whole tournament was held in a very good spirit. Maybe something unfortunate has really happened, or it’s all cheating, “said angry Swiss captain Heinz Günthardt after the match.

Russia’s original nomination for the match was made up of the two strongest players in the rankings. Daria Kasatkin was to meet Jill Teichmann first. But there is a rule according to which it is possible to change the nomination fifteen minutes before the match.

Russian captain Igor Andreev announced that Anastasia Pavluchenkov’s unit was injured, suffering from her left knee and being replaced by Liudmila Samsonova.

Unthinkable change

At first glance, it may seem illogical to look for a better player for a worse tactic. But Benčičová and Pavľučenkovová know each other well and Benčičová was the clear favorite of the match.

They played together seven times and the Swiss won five times. The last time was at the Olympics in Tokyo, where Benčičová won gold.

On the contrary, Samson defeated Benchico twice this season. In addition, she was aroused when she held the Russian team in the semifinals, a point against the USA, when she defeated Sloane Stephens.

Pavluchenkova lost in the semifinals after a big fight with the American unit Danielle Collins.

In addition, Benčičová played in Prague in great comfort. She defeated Angelique Kerberová, Barbora Krejčíková and Ajla Tomljanovičová. They even dominated the doubles against the Czech Republic against Jil Teichmann.

If it were a tactical move on the part of Russia, Samsonova would know in advance who she would oppose, but Benchic would still be preparing for a completely different opponent at that time.

Russian tennis players in the final won 2: 0 in matches. Kasatkin defeated Teichmann and deputy Samson Benchicova.

Immediately, questions arose as to whether it was right for the nominations to change so shortly before the match.

“Honestly, it was very ugly of them. But in the end, justice will win once and we will win the title,” said Belinda Benčičová, angry with tears in her eyes.

She sometimes smiles, looks friendly to journalists.

“It’s awful we have to talk about this. We should sit here and talk about the game. And the Russians really played great tennis. But we have to deal with this here. This has nothing to do with tennis, it’s sad,” she said at a glance. even more angry Teichmann.

The members of the Swiss team agreed that the Russians were better in terms of tennis, but they did not like the tactics around Pavlučenkov.

“Fifteen minutes before the match, they exchanged a team unit for a team four. Someone will say it’s wise, I think it’s unthinkable, “said the Swiss captain.

She wasn’t feeling well

In the Russian team, they reject any intentional manipulation. The Russians came to the press conference in a relaxed atmosphere, laughed, joked, and even after Pavluchenko’s initial evaluation, their teammates began to applaud.

“I’m proud of this team,” she said.

But when the first of the journalists started asking questions and it was obvious that he would be interested in the topic of changing the nomination, it was possible to see how the mood in the team is changing.

“Anastasia played hard matches. But she didn’t feel like she could put one hundred percent in the warm-up. So we changed the nomination,” said Captain Igor Andreev.

“When you play in a tournament, you can retire, when you play for a team, you can’t stop playing,” Pavluchenkova added.

The Swiss journalist then asked whether this meant that Pavluchenko had been injured just before the match.

“I knew it in the evening, but I wanted to put everything into it before the match. But I also had a problem with the service,” Russia explained.

The Russian captain reiterated that a professional athlete can be injured at any time.

“It can happen that you get up badly on the pass and you have after the match. This happened to me too, “he said.

Indirect answers

The statements were increasingly contradictory. The Russians once spoke of problems with the passing and sudden injuries, then of fatigue and long-term injuries of Pavluchenko.

The journalist present therefore asked directly whether Pavlučenkov was injured just before the match. But the captain of the Russian Federation did not answer, although he received a question several times.

“Professional athletes can get injured at any time and sometimes it hurts more, sometimes less,” Andreev repeated.

Similarly, the Russians did not want to comment on whether this rule makes sense at all in the format for two winning matches.

“The rules must be respected,” Pavluchenko said, and the captain agreed.

Veronika Kudermetovová also took part in the exchange of views. “Našta wanted to play today because she is our unit, she played very good matches. She started preparing and she couldn’t jump out or serve properly,” she said.

“Um. It seemed that all the questions were just about my injury,” Pavluchenkovova said in disgust.

The Swiss were convinced that it was a tactical move. “If it was cheating, it’s never wise to get caught with it,” said the Swiss captain.

“I have to say at the same time that they played great, they were a better team. If someone beats you just because it’s better, it’s fair, it’s okay. But this was a bit manipulative,” he continued.

“It hurts more. It’s sad that we have to talk about this, but it’s part of what happened today. But there is no failure to reach the finals, we’ll be back,” Günthardt concluded..