Fed Cup Captain Murray Off to a Good Start

Written by: Staff on 8th February 2012

Fed Cup Captain Murray Off to a Good Start

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns to Kim Clijsters of Belgium their semi-final match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 26 January 2012. EPA/BARBARA WALTON |

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Britain’s newly appointed Fed Cup captain Judy Murray received a glowing endorsement from her players after a 100% successful passage through the first competitive week of her new job with the team securing a World Group II play-off in April after beating Portugal, Netherlands, hosts Israel and Austria in Eilat.

Murray and Co. now await the outcome of the draw for the play-off on April 14 with a match-up with Belarus, and quite possibly new world no.1 Victoria Azarenka, a possibility.

After eight years of toiling away with no success in the grueling Euro/Africa Zone Group I, the British team of Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong and teenagers Heather Watson and Laura Robson, galvanized under the command of the mother of world no.4 Andy Murray.

The experienced Baltacha voiced the mood in the camp when she said: “Judy Murray has been a great captain, incredibly supportive to me personally but also very good at making everyone feel like they are part of something special.

“Anne, Heather, Laura and I all fought our hearts out. To be traveling home having won all four of our matches and knowing we achieved it as a team, is one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever had. I’m sure none of us can wait to do it all again in April.”

While the rest of her team jetted off to various destinations around the globe, Murray returned to snow-blanketed Britain and said: “The biggest thing is the team spirit. We had so much fun, everyone was really pulling for each other on and off the court. It’s an exciting time for women’s tennis in Britain.

“Anne and Bally are playing the best tennis of their careers and they still have a lot of improvements they can make, which is good.

“Obviously the two youngsters coming through, Heather and Laura, are very exciting prospects; very different from each other in the way that they play but great personalities with very bright futures ahead of them.

“To have four players with that kind of strength in depth helped us in this event because, although we haven’t got a top 20 or top 10 player, we have four players who are fairly similarly matched. To be able to spread two singles and a doubles across all four players means they don’t get tired and we can all get behind each other.”

Slovenia or Switzerland are the other potential opponents for Britain but Murray added: “We would love a home tie to experience the type of atmosphere the guys get in Davis Cup,” said Murray. “It would be a great showcase for the British women and a chance to get more girls into our sport.”

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