Billie Jean King Cup playoffs: India go down to Latvia after Ankita Raina loss

India’s maiden challenge in the Billie Jean King Cup World Group playoffs fell flat as the Indian women’s team lost 3-1 against Latvia at the National Tennis Centre Lielupe in Jurmala.

Trailing the hosts 2-0 after the opening day, India’s Ankita Raina went up against Anastasija Sevastova in the reverse single match to kick off the second day.

World No. 174 Ankita Raina – India’s top-ranked women’s singles player - needed to win her match against Sevastova, the world No. 47, to keep India in the tie. The Indian, though, lost 6-0, 6(4)-7(7) .

Ankita Raina’s loss gave Latvia a 3-0 lead in the best of five tie. The previously scheduled fourth singles match between India’s Karman Kaur Thandi and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko and the solitary doubles match between Sania Mirza/Ankita Raina and Diana Marcinkevica/Daniela Vismane, hence, were deemed inconsequential.

Ankita Raina, who gave 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko a tough game on Friday, was pushed on the backfoot early as Sevastova broke the Indian in the opening game of the match.

A flurry of unforced errors, including two double faults, cost the Indian in the third and fifth games as well as Sevastova raced to a commanding lead before serving out the first set 6-0.

Ankita Raina finally managed to hold her serve in the opening game of the second set. It ended Sevastova’s run of 14 undefeated games.

The Latvian had won the last eight games during her 6-4, 6-0 win over Thandi on the opening day before steamrolling Ankita Raina in the first set on Saturday.

Ankita Raina built on the momentum, breaking Sevastova for the first time in the second game. The Indian earned another break in the sixth game to take a 5-2 lead.

Sevastova, though, saved two set points in the eight game and mounted an incredible comeback to take a 6-5 lead.

Defending in the all-important 12th game, Ankita Raina saved a match point and broke the Latvian to level it up at 6-6 and forced the tie-break.

The experienced Sevastova, though, finally wrapped up the topsy-turvy second set, and with it the tie, by winning the tie-breaker by a 6-4 margin.

If India had managed to win the play-off tie against Latvia, they would have earned a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers for 2022, where they could have vied against the top teams in the world for a spot in next season’s Finals.

However, the loss means that India will be relegated back to the Asia/Oceania Group I for the 2022 campaign. They will have to work their way up to the World Group playoffs again next season.

This was India’s first playoff appearance in the Billie Jean King Cup - earlier known as the Fed Cup.

“I played well in the second set and had some opportunities to win it,” Ankita Raina said. “I think I should have been more aggressive when I had the chances to close the set. It was nice to play in the World Group Playoffs. We were very happy to be here.”

Consolation win in dead rubber

With the following matches dead rubbers, India fielded youngsters Rutuja Bhosale and Zeel Desai in the doubles match instead of Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina.

The hosts, too, changed their doubles line-up, fielding Patricija Spaka alongside Daniela Vismane instead of Diana Marcinkevica. Spaka and Desai were making their Billie Jean King Cup debuts.

The Indian duo put up an impressive front in the first set to win in 6-4 but were pegged back by the Latvians in the second set.

Spaka and Vismane rallied to win the second set 7-5 to force a tie-break for the match. 

Bhosale and Desai, though, eased through 10-2 to earn a 6-4, 5-7, 10-2 victory and a consolation win for India.

_Photo: Latvian Tennis Union / Kaspars Volonts
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