Carole Melegeni fights, but loses, and Germany concludes the confrontation against Brazil in the Billie Jean King Cup | Tennis

Brazilian Carolina Melegeni Alves lost to German Laura Siegmund in two sets to one (parts of 6/1, 2/6 and 3/6), on Saturday evening, in the Billie Jean King Cup tournament, at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium, in Sao Paulo. pee. The win in 2 hours and 36 minutes of play gave Germany qualification to the finals of the main women's competition among world tennis nations.

– Painful defeat. Losing on our soil in front of this audience is very difficult. It cannot be denied that despite the defeat, it is a great moment for us. Several high-level players at the same time. “I'm proud to say that women's tennis filled the court with almost 9 thousand people – said Carroll immediately after the match.

Carole replaced Laura Pigossi, who was previously scheduled to be on the second day of discord. According to the Brazilian Tennis Federation, the exchange was due to a “change in tactics.” On Friday night, Laura Pigosi lost her match to Tatiana Maria two sets to one and felt pain in her knee at the end of the match, in addition to cramps. Earlier, on Friday, Pia Haddad was also defeated by Laura Siegmund. Brazil survived the confrontation thanks to… Pia Haddad won This Saturday, minutes before Carol Meligini was due to enter court.

With their third win in four meetings, Germany sealed the tie against Brazil and qualified for the final stage of the Billie Jean King Cup, which will be played by 12 countries in November, in Seville, Spain. Brazil has not been among the top 12 teams in the world tennis elite since 1982. Now, the Brazilians are also back in action in November, but in a playoff they need to win to remain in the world's top division. If you lose, you will return to continental matches.

Carol entered the court with a complex task, which was to overcome the German who defeated Pia Haddad the previous night. The beginning of the game already showed that Sigmund wanted to end the duel quickly. After all, the 85th in the world was facing the Brazilian who was only 345th in the world rankings (she was already 165th).

Despite being 3-0 without many chances down the field, Carroll fought back. She broke the German player's serve in the fourth game, amid great applause and cheers from the audience, including the tennis player's uncle, Fernando Meligini. But the reaction was short-lived. Siegmund finished the first set 6/1 in 39 minutes.

Then, at the start of the second set, Carroll broke the German down again, and this time in addition to fighting, she also pulled some powerful shots from her sleeve. With the score at 1-0, of course, the fans got excited and started chanting for the turnaround. Amid this excitement, Carol confirmed her withdrawal from the match for the first time.

At that point in the dispute, under pressure, Siegmund was no longer able to serve while Carol had all the confidence to return. The Brazilian's strategy was working so well that she made it 6-2 with her in complete control of the events. What was an impossible task became possible.

But the dream ended at the beginning of the third group, as Germany took the lead again 3-0, and who said that the Brazilian would not strive to achieve that? I went. He did 3/4 with the pulse of the gym and his brother Felipe Melegeni, also a tennis player, is going crazy on the edge of the court. With two and a half hours of competition, Siegmund had to break a sweat. very. Thus he achieved victory for Germany.

There was no shortage of Carol's fights until the end. But the victory Brazil needed to decide the doubles match was not achieved. The seeding for the finals is for next year. Carol Meligini left the court bigger than she entered. Much larger.