The Borneo Post (Sabah)

German anthem gaffe, gamesmansh­ip row hit Fed Cup

-

PARIS: Defending champions Czech Republic, Switzerlan­d, Belarus and the United States reached the Fed Cup semi-finals Sunday but the tournament suffered an embarrassi­ng gaffe over the German national anthem and accusation­s of gamesmansh­ip.

As 17-time champions United States were downing Germany 3-0 to book a home last-four date against the Czechs, their efforts were overshadow­ed by a controvers­ial blunder over the German anthem played just before action got underway in Hawaii.

German star Andrea Petkovic said she had “never felt so disrespect­ed” after an American soloist sang an old version of the anthem which leads off with a stanza considered overtly nationalis­t -- “Deutschlan­d, Deutschlan­d ueber alles” -- a reference to German supremacy.

Singing that version is a major embarrassm­ent in Germany, because of its strong links to the Nazi era, and only the third stanza of the old anthem is now in use.

Organisers apologised but a fuming Petkovic went on to lose to Alison Riske 7-6 (12/10), 6-2 to put the US 1-0 up on Saturday.

“I have never felt so disrespect­ed in my life, it was an absolute effrontery and insolence, of the very worst kind,” said the 29-year-old Petkovic adding that she and team-mate Julia Georges were in tears.

“We’re in 2017 -- something like this should not happen in America. It is embarrassi­ng and smacks of ignorance.”

Germany team skipper Barbara Rittner described it as “a real scandal and inexcusabl­e”.

On Sunday, the organisers managed to play the correct version of the anthem. However, it didn’t help Germany who slipped 2-0 down when Goerges retired injured as she trailed CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3, 3-1.

Vandeweghe then sealed a 3-0 victory -- and a first semifinal in seven years -- with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Petkovic after running away with the last 10 games.

In Ostrava, Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova led defending champions the Czech Republic into the semifinals for a ninth successive season with victory against Spain.

Pliskova overcame seventhran­ked French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-2.

Then Strycova, ranked 17th, beat 70th-ranked Lara Arruabarre­na 6-4, 6-4 in almost two hours.

Seeking a fourth straight Fed Cup title, and sixth from the last seven editions, the 10time champions Czechs will travel to the US for the semifinals on April 22-23.

Switzerlan­d knocked out last year’s runners-up France after Timea Bacsinszky downed Kristina Mladenovic 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-5 in a 3hr 20min thriller before Belinda Bencic eased past Pauline Parmentier 6-3, 6-4.

However, Bacsinszky was accused of gamesmansh­ip by a frustrated Mladenovic.

On Saturday, world number 16 Bacsinszky left the court in Geneva for treatment to a wasp sting on her elbow while, on Sunday, she again sought medical help for a knee injury when a break point down in the sixth game of the deciding set.

When she returned, she took a 21-shot rally and claimed eight of the next nine points to stretch to a 5-2 lead.

“She did a kangaroo jump and ran better than before,” fumed Mladenovic.

“There was the wasp attack and a medical timeout at 5-4 against Alize (Cornet, in the second set on Saturday) to regain her spirits.

“That’s a lot in two days. There are rules, she uses them to the maximum, it’s her way of fighting, she’s known for it. I do not have values like this.”

In April’s semi-finals, Switzerlan­d will travel to World Group debutants Belarus who defeated the Netherland­s 4-1 in Minsk.

Aryna Sabalenka, 18, ranked 142 in the world, downed Michaella Krajicek 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 for the crucial point after Aliaksandr­a Sasnovich, the world number 128, defeated 24th-ranked Kiki Bertens 6-3, 6-4 ending the Dutchwoman’s eight-match winning streak in Fed Cup. - AFP

 ??  ?? Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic hits a return against Roberta Vinci of Italy in their women’s singles quarter-final match at the Brisbane Internatio­nal tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 5, 2017. - AFP photo
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic hits a return against Roberta Vinci of Italy in their women’s singles quarter-final match at the Brisbane Internatio­nal tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 5, 2017. - AFP photo

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Malaysia