Blue-and-white avoids Fed Cup relegation by beating Latvia in crucial showdown

After suffering two consecutive 3-0 defeats to Croatia and Belgium in Pool D, Israel had to overcome Latvia to avoid a tie against relegation to Group II.

FEBRUARY 8, 2015 02:26

Israeli tennis star Julia Glushko in action (photo credit: REUTERS) — Israeli tennis star Julia Glushko in action

(photo credit: REUTERS)

Israel’s Fed Cup team maintained its Europe/Africa Zone Group I status for another year on Friday, beating Latvia 2-1 in a crucial showdown in Budapest, Hungary.

After suffering two consecutive 3-0 defeats to Croatia and Belgium in Pool D, Israel had to overcome Latvia to avoid a tie against relegation to Group II.

The blue-and-white did so comfortably, with Julia Glushko, ranked No.

146 in the world, beating Jelena Ostapenko (266) 7-5, 6-3 before Shahar Pe’er (113), playing her first singles rubber in Budapest after recovering from an ankle injury, thrashed Diana Marcinkevica (262) 6-1, 6-1.

The tie ended at 2-1 after Israel’s Alona Pushkarevsky and Keren Shlomo lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to Darta-Elizabete Emulina and Ostapenko in a meaningless doubles contest.

The win over Latvia meant Israel ended Pool D in third place from four teams and the blue-and-white will play in Group I for a seventh straight year in 2016.

Meanwhile, The USA took a 2-0 lead over Argentina in the first round of World Group II on Saturday thanks to wins by Serena and Venus Williams.

Fresh off her Australian Open triumph, Serena beat Maria Irigoyen 7-5, 6-0 after Venus defeated Paula Ormaechea 6-2, 6-3.

The USA will be confident of wrapping up the best-of-five tie on Sunday.

Serena announced last week that she will return to Indian Wells to play in the tournament she has boycotted for 14 years after suffering racist abuse.

In an interview with TIME magazine, the 19-times grand slam singles champion said she had discovered the “true meaning of forgiveness” and would go for a third title in the Californian resort in March.

“It has been difficult for me to forget spending hours crying in the Indian Wells locker room after winning in 2001, driving back to Los Angeles feeling as if I had lost the biggest game ever – not a mere tennis game but a bigger fight for equality,” the 33-year-old Williams wrote.

“I’m fortunate to be at a point in my career where I have nothing to prove.

I’m still as driven as ever, but the ride is a little easier. I play for the love of the game.

“It is with that love in mind, and a new understanding of the true meaning of forgiveness, that I will proudly return to Indian Wells in 2015.”

Williams won her second title at the showpiece event in 2001, beating Kim Clijsters in a final marred by the behavior of some fans who booed and heckled the American and her family, apparently in response to sister Venus withdrawing injured from their semifinal.

In her autobiography My Life: Queen of the Court, Williams describes the events which prompted her boycott: “I could hear the shouts of “Nigger!” here and there.

“I even heard one angry voice telling us to go back to Compton. It was unbelievable.”

Williams made her main draw debut at Indian Wells as a 17-yearold in 1999, beating Steffi Graf in the final.

“I have thought about going back to Indian Wells many times over my career,” Williams, who won the Australian Open on Saturday, said in the TIME interview.

“I said a few times that I would never play there again. And believe me, I meant it. I admit it scared me.

What if I walked onto the court and the entire crowd booed me? The nightmare would start all over.

“I’m just following my heart on this one,” she adds. “Indian Wells was a pivotal moment of my story, and I am a part of the tournament’s story as well.

“Together we have a chance to write a different ending.”

Reuters contributed to this report