Greece beat Slovenia and survive
Dramatic three-set wins from both Valentini Grammatikopoulou and Maria Sakkari saw Greece defeat Slovenia to avoid the Fed Cup relegation play-off.
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In the opening singles match, Grammatikopoulou (world number 171) took on 18-year-old Slovenian Kaja Juvan (world number 169). Juvan had actually won their only previous meeting in straight sets, and seemed to be heading for another win over the Greek as she went up 5-3 in the first set. Nevertheless, Grammatikopoulou would fight back to take the set 7-6 (7-2 in the tiebreak). The Greek also went up 5-3 in the second set, but this time it was Juvan who would come from behind to take the set 7-5, forcing a third set. In the decider, Grammatikopoulou came out on top, winning it 6-3 to give Greece a 1-0 lead overall.
In the second singles match, Sakkari (world number 38) faced Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic (world number 86). Coming into the match, Sakkari held a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Slovenian. However, it was Jakupovic who would draw first blood by taking the opening set 6-4. Sakkari had actually won more points than Jakupovic in that set, but her poor break point conversion (1 for 7) compared to Jakupovic’s (2 for 3), made the difference.
Jakupovic would then carry this momentum into the second set, going up 3-0 early on. As she has done many times in the past, Sakkari kept fighting and was able to turn the match around by taking the second set 6-4. The Greek then went on to take the third set 6-3 and clinch the victory for Greece. The doubles match was not played as it would not have had any impact on the standings.
The Greek team has now successfully avoided relegation, and will play against Turkey in Saturday’s consolation play-off. On the other hand, Slovenia will now have to face Georgia in the relegation play-off, also to be played on Saturday.
GREECE 2, SLOVENIA 0:
Valentini Grammatikopoulou (Greece) def. Kaja Juvan (Slovenia) 7-6(2) 5-7 6-3
Maria Sakkari (Greece) def. Dalila Jakupovic (Slovenia) 4-6 6-4 6-3
