As Johanna Konta clinched a final win at the University of Bath last year to guide Great Britain out of the Fed Cup zonal stages and into the play-offs, she collapsed. She had first fallen to the floor as she left the bathroom during a comfort break in her three-set match against Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and then, after she reached the finish line, her teammates practically dragged her exhausted body from the court.
It turned out to be the defining image of GB’s 2019 season when they overcame bruising three-set matches, accusations of unfair line calls, mind games and endless drama to return to the World Group stages for the first time in 26 years. It had ended with Katie Boulter playing through injury to clinch victory in the play-off tie against Kazakhstan with a three-set win before being diagnosed with a stress fracture in her back. She did not play another match for seven months.
Written by Tumaini Carayol
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/06/great-britain-slovakia-fed-cup-finals-tennis-heather-watson-harriet-dart under the title “GB take on Slovakia in battle for new-look Fed Cup finals place | Tumaini Carayol”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
