Tennis player Laura Siegemund lost her singles against Petra Kvitova at the United Cup in Australia and thus caused the German defeat in the opening match against the Czech Republic.
The successes of Oscar Otte as well as Alexander Zverev and Siegemund in doubles on New Year's Day did not change anything about the 2: 3 defeat at the start of the tournament against the Czech Republic. The German tennis team continues in Sydney on Monday and Tuesday against the last group opponent USA.
The 34-year-old Siegemund lost to the world number 16. Kvitova 4:6, 2:6. The German team was unable to make up for the 3-0 deficit after the defeats of Olympic champion Alexander Zverev and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier. Then the 29-year-old Otte won 7: 6 (7: 1), 6: 2 against Dalibor Svrcina. Zverev and Siegemund won their doubles 6: 4, 7: 6 (7: 1) against Jiri Lehecka and Marie Bouzkova. Zverev had lost his singles match against Lehecka on Saturday.
Zverev with a difficult comeback
For the 25-year-old, the appearance at the United Cup in Australia is also his comeback on the tennis tour after his foot operation. "Physically, I'm not yet at the level I need to be. There's no question. I get tired a lot faster than before. I'm not as fast as I probably was," said Zverev. It will be a few weeks before he's back to the level he wants to be.
Before the preparatory tournament for the Australian Open (January 16 to 29), Zverev had only gained game practice at show appearances after his serious ankle injury at the French Open in June. He has only been pain-free for two or three weeks, he reported. "It would be unrealistic and also pretty stupid of me to expect to win or something," said Zverev, looking at the Australian Open.
Before the duel with the USA, who had won the opening match against the Czech Republic, Germany is in last place in the group of three. A total of 18 nations are fighting for progress in six groups of the new competition, and the winner will be determined in the final on January 8th. The United Cup is also about world ranking points and a total of 15 million US dollars (14.05 million euros) in prize money and bonuses.
