Tennis

Small of stature, but not of spirit, Yulia Putintseva is the woman that Great Britain feared in this Fed Cup tie. And their misgivings were confirmed last night as Putintseva escaped from almost certain doom to drag Kazakhstan back into the contest. After Johanna Konta’s hard-earned win in the first match of the day, Katie Boulter had plenty of looks at a second victory, which would all but have decided the tie. But three match points slipped out of her grasp as Putintseva lived up to Konta’s prediction for the weekend – “she competes from the very first ball to the very last” – by sneaking home via the deciding-set tie-break: 3-6, 6-2, 7-6. Her celebrations resembled those of a grand-slam champion as she collapsed to her knees and then kissed her bicep. After the psychodramas of Konta’s match – of which more later – the second rubber had a different mood. The good news is that Boulter swung freely from the beginning. But after that … [Read more...] about Katie Boulter squanders match points while Johanna Konta salvages GB point in Fed Cup tie with Kazakhstan

Whatever we had expected from Johanna Konta’s post-match interview at the Copper Box Arena, it was not musical criticism. Yet that was what we got, as Konta took a moment to congratulate Kazakhstan’s travelling trombonist for his skill. In the early stages of Konta’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback victory over Zarina Diyas, the visiting band was clearly getting under her skin. Whenever Konta made an unforced error – and there were 20 of them in that first set – the brass man would rub it in with the sort of “Mwah-mwah-mwah-mwaaaah” noise you used to get in old cartoons. The British captain Anne Keothavong joined her boss, LTA head of women’s tennis Iain Bates, in making repeated complaints to match referee Andreas Egli. Their objections had little effect. “It does shock you, in every Fed Cup, when you first hear that drum or that trombone,” said Konta afterwards. “It takes a bit of time to get used to. I was actually in two … [Read more...] about Johanna Konta overcomes Zarina Diyas and a noisy crowd to take Fed Cup point for Great Britain against Kazakhstan

Great Britain’s Fed Cup ties have delivered no end of drama in the last couple of years, including Ilie Nastase’s toxic intervention in Constanta and Johanna Konta’s emotional collapse in Bath. There is every chance that this weekend’s World Group play-off at London’s Copper Box will follow suit. Not only is the visiting Kazakh team led by the most inflammable character on the WTA tour, but the woman in question – Yulia “Poots” Putintseva – had an acrimonious run-in with British captain Anne Keothavong nine years ago. Saturday’s schedule has Putintseva playing the second rubber against British No 2 Katie Boulter, who holds a 100 per cent Fed Cup record after winning all four of her singles matches in Bath in February. Asked on Friday if Boulter had been briefed on the sorts of provocation she is likely to face, Keothavong replied: “We all know what she [Putintseva] is like. But the players are professional. You know … [Read more...] about ‘We know what she is like, don’t rise to her bait’

A stone’s throw from where her tennis story began, Anne Keothavong is a buzz of energy and enthusiasm.  You can understand why. Great Britain's Fed Cup captain is assembling her team this weekend for their second fixture on home soil in the space of 10 weeks. And while victory in the eight-nation Europe Africa Group I in Bath was memorable, this weekend's tie against Kazakhstan in the Copper Box Arena has added significance.  “I can’t believe we have a tennis event in east London,” Keothavong told the Telegraph. "Growing up in Hackney, I spent a lot of time playing on the park courts there. To take tennis to a different part of London, where we’ve never had an international team tie, is going to be special." Going back to her roots is a bonus, but more significant for Keothavong - the 35-year-old former British No1, who became the first British woman in 16 years to make the WTA top 50 in 2009 - is the opportunity of expanding tennis' … [Read more...] about Anne Keothavong exclusive interview: ‘Britain gave my parents a chance at a better life

While Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic perform for the jaded ­millionaires of Monte Carlo this weekend, a smaller but far more passionate crowd will be backing Great Britain’s top women – ­Johanna Konta and Katie Boulter – in the first elite tennis event ever held at London’s Olympic Park. On Saturday and Sunday, Konta and Boulter are to face Kazakhstan in the Copper Box Arena in front of 5,800 spectators, including up to 300 visitors who – according to ­opposing captain Dias Doskarayev – will be bringing “drums and ­trumpets and a lot of noise”. Despite tennis’s middle-class ­image, these international team events can take on a surprisingly bloodthirsty edge – a complete ­contrast to the Glyndebourne-meets-Hickstead vibe of the grass-court swing. At Bath University two months ago, the raw emotion of 1,800 fans in a small sports hall helped drive Great Britain to successive Fed Cup victories over … [Read more...] about Katie Boulter ready to bring inner fire to Fed Cup cauldron