Published :Tuesday, 19 April, 2016, Time : 12:00 AM View Count : 6
Bucharest, April 18: Andrea Petkovic battled back from surviving two match points against her on Sunday as Germany enjoyed a 4-1 away win over Romania in the Fed Cup World Group play-off. The 28-year-old showed an iron will after being demolished in the first set, then held her nerve to win the second-set tie-breaker and claim a 0-6, 7-6(7/1), 6-3 win over Monica Niculescu. After Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber had put the Germans 2-1 up by beating Simona Halep in Sunday's opening singles rubber, Petkovic's victory gave the Germans an unassailable 3-1 lead. "With these emotions and the support of this team, anything is possible," said an exhausted Petkovic, who needed just over two and a half hours to seal her win. It was Petkovic's second long match in the space of 24 hours. Her team-mates Annika Beck and Julia Goerges then finished the job with a 6-7(5/7), 7-6(7/4), 10-7 win over Irina-Camelia Begu and Alexandra Dulgheru in the dead doubles rubber. It means Germany keep their place in the Fed Cup's top tier after beating the hosts in front of a sell-out crowd of 7,500 at the Sala Polivalenta Arena in Cluj-Napoca. ?AFP