Watch as Judy Murray talks to British Tennis after Day 2 of the Fed Cup
The Aegon GB Fed Cup Team suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Turkey on the second day of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.
Judy Murray’s team were looking to build on their 3-0 whitewash of Liechtenstein on Wednesday ahead of facing a tough match with Ukraine on Friday.
After Johanna Konta and Heather Watson had lost their singles matches, Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith convincingly won their doubles to ensure a victory against Ukraine might still see the team top Group B.
Anna Smith & Jocelyn Rae by Getty Images
Konta opened proceedings against 18-year-old Ipek Soylu who won four ITF Pro-Circuit singles titles last year.
An up and down first set went the way of the Turkish player 6-3 before the second set, after exchanging breaks of serve, was decided by a tie-break.
Konta took a 6-4 lead and had two set points but could not take it into a decider as Soylu won four points on the trot to win the match.
Jo Konta by Getty Images
Heather Watson was next on court and faced a tricky match with Cagla Buyukakcay who upset Elina Svitolina in three sets on Wednesday.
Buyukakcay was in confident mood once again and broke the British No.1 in the opening game on her way to winning the first set 6-2.
Watson was a break down at 3-2 in the second as well before fighting back to win the next four games to take the set 6-3 and level the match.
A nervy third set saw both players lose their serve twice before Watson was broken again when 6-5 down to lose the match 2-6, 6-3, 5-7.
Heather Watson by Getty Images
Rae and Smith were determined to get a rubber on the board and dominated Basak Eraydin & Pemra Ozgen from start to finish to win 6-2, 6-1 and remain unbeaten in 2015.
Quotes from the captain:
Judy Murray said: "I think the first thing to say is the Turkish girls really raised their levels and both played a lot better than we probably expected them to and played with a lot of freedom and nothing to lose.
"They are both ranked quite a bit below our girls which often makes it easier to come out and have a swing at things.
"They were both winnable matches for us. Jo had two set points in the second set and didn’t manage to get them, perhaps if she got that set she might have managed to find a way to pull the win out.
"Heather did a good job after a slow start. I know Heather was very disappointed to lose that much but the Turkish girls played well and Jos and Anna did have a very convincing win in the doubles so that was good for them and their confidence."
On facing Ukraine:
Murray said: "If we win 3-0 tomorrow we will win the group which has to be our goal. If we win 2-1 then it will go down to a breakdown of sets won and lost. We have to go out tomorrow and win every rubber."
Spotlight on Ukraine: World Ranking 26
| Players |
Age |
Singles World Ranking (unless stated otherwise) |
| Elina Svitolina |
20 |
26 |
| Lesia Tsurenko |
25 |
92 |
| Kateryna Kozlova |
20 |
124 |
| Olga Savchuk |
27 |
57 (Doubles)
|
(View full draw, results and group standings)
Ukraine so far:
Against Turkey 04/02/2015 - WON 2-1
Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-2 Pemra Ozgen
Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-4, 0-6 Cagla Buyukakcay
Tsurenko & Olga Savchuk 7-5, 6-1 Buyukakcay & Ipek Soylu
Against Liechtenstein 05/02/2015 – WON 3-0
Kateryna Kozlova 6-1, 6-1 Kathinka Von Deichmann
Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Stephanie Vogt
Olga Savchuk & Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-1 Von Deichmann & Vogt
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