Fed Cup: Heather Watson & Johanna Konta help Great Britain to win over Latvia
- Published
Heather Watson and Johanna Konta led Great Britain to a second successive 3-0 win at the Fed Cup in Estonia.
World number 72 Watson beat Latvia's Diana Marcinkevica 6-3 6-0, before world number 10 Konta defeated 35th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-3.
Jocelyn Rae and Laura Robson then saw off Daniela Vismane and Marcinkevica 6-0 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 in the doubles.
Britain beat Portugal 3-0 on Wednesday, and top the group going in to their final match against Turkey on Friday.
Victory would guarantee their place in the promotion play-offs on Saturday, when they would face the winners of Pool B.
"We knew that Latvia was going to be a strong team," said Konta. "It's never easy and a lot of players raise their level in Fed Cup. The scoreline doesn't suggest it was as difficult as it felt.
"I'm really enjoying it. I didn't get the chance to play it last year so from the very beginning of the season I was clear that I wanted it to be part of my schedule."
Fed Cup format
Unlike the men's team competition, the Davis Cup, which has a World Group of 16 nations, the Fed Cup divides its top teams into two groups of eight - World Group I and World Group II.
The 91 nations outside the top tiers are divided into three regional zones and Britain have one chance per year to escape - a format that hugely frustrated former captain Judy Murray.
The Europe/Africa Group I event, which this year takes place in Estonia, has 14 teams divided into groups, with Poland, Croatia, Britain and Serbia the seeded nations.
Four group winners will progress to promotion play-offs on Saturday, and two nations will then qualify for World Group II play-offs in April - which could see Britain given a home Fed Cup tie for the first time since 1993.
They fell at the same stage in 2012 and 2013 - away ties in Sweden and Argentina - under the captaincy of Judy Murray.
FED CUP EUROPE/AFRICA GROUP I | |||
---|---|---|---|
POOL A | POOL B | POOL C | POOL D |
Poland | Croatia | Great Britain | Serbia |
Georgia | Hungary | Turkey | Israel |
Austria | Bosnia/Herzegovina | Latvia | Bulgaria |
Portugal | Estonia |
- Published8 February 2017
- Published9 February 2017
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