Greece edge Estonia in Tallinn
Valentini Grammatikopoulou and Despina Papamichail led Greece to a dramatic 2-1 victory over host Estonia on day one of the 2020 Fed Cup Group I competition.
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In the opening singles match, Greece’s Valentini Grammatikopoulou (world number 301) took on Estonia’s Elena Malygina (world number 553). The Greek took the first set 6-4, but quickly went down 0-3 in the second set. Grammatikopoulou was then able to level the second set at 3-3, but ultimately dropped it 4-6. The 19-year-old Estonian then inched closer to victory, as she took a 5-2 lead in the third set. Nevertheless, Grammatikopoulou fought back to force a decisive third set tiebreak. The Greek prevailed 10-8 in the tiebreak, saving two match points along the way to give her country a 1-0 lead overall. The 22-year-old from Kilkis in Central Macedonia now holds a 10-4 record in Fed Cup singles play.
The second singles match saw world number 258 Despina Papamichail of Greece face world number 22 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. Kontaveit, who recently reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, was expected to win the match in straight sets. However, Papamichail came from 2-3 down in the first set to take it 6-3. Kontaveit then went on to win the next two sets 6-3 and 6-0, to level the score at 1-1 and send the tie to a decisive doubles match.
Grammatikopoulou and Papamichail then teamed up for the first time ever, playing against Kontaveit and Malygina. The Greek duo took the first set 6-3. The Estonians responded by going up 1-4 in the second set, but the Greeks fought back to level it at 4-4. Kontaveit and Malygina ended up taking the set 4-6. Despite that, Grammatikopoulou and Papamichail dominated the third set, winning it 6-2 to clinch a 2-1 victory for Greece over Estonia on the opening day of play.
Greece will now play against Austria on Thursday. Following the late withdrawal of Austria’s number one player (Barbara Haas, world number 139), the Austrians were defeated 3-0 by Italy in their opening match.
GREECE 2, ESTONIA 1:
Valentini Grammatikopoulou (Greece) def. Elena Malygina (Estonia) 6-4 4-6 7-6(8)
Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) def. Despina Papamichail (Greece) 3-6 6-3 6-0
Grammatikopoulou/Papamichail (Greece) def. Kontaveit/Malygina (Estonia) 6-3 4-6 6-2
