Team Bath’s Smith saves Fed Cup day for GB
Team Bath MCTA tennis player Anna Smith made her Federation Cup debut an event to remember today.
The 26 year old doubles specialist pulled GB through an incredible rally to save match point with Jocelyn Rae and pave the way for a three-set doubles win which saw GB through to the next round against Belarus tomorrow.
Smith chased a lob and then picked up a difficult volley to keep British hopes alive and save the match point at 4-5 in the second set. The duo went on to take the win 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 and remain unbeaten in the competition so far.
GB, coached by Judy Murray and featuring Heather Watson and Johanna Konta, beat Lichtenstein 3-0 on the opening day, lost to Turkey 1-2 yesterday but beat Ukraine 3-0 today.
“Anna and Jocelyn held their nerve well in a pressurised situation today”, said Team Bath coach Ian MacDonald, “and for Anna to play so well on her debut is a fantastic achievement. One more to go now”.
Originally from Surrey, Smith made the move to Bath in 2013. A year later she and Rae won the Aegon Challenger Trophy title in Nottingham and Smith moved up to the no.1 doubles ranking in the country. They won the British Tour title in Sunderland this month before moving on to the Federation Cup.
Britain are currently in Europe-Asia Group One in the BNP Paribas Federation Cup which is a women’s team trophy. There are currently 15 teams in this group and if Britain finished in the top two they would be promoted to the World Group.
A win against Belarus tomorrow would put them in the play-offs for the right to progress to the World Group.
For further information contact: Caroline Searle in the Team Bath press office on 07831 755351 or caroline@matchtight.co.uk
