GB Slip to Austria Defeat

Great Britain's Fed Cup team crashed to a 3-0 defeat against Austria in Thursday's group match.

Confidence was high in the British camp after their 3-0 whitewash of Bosnia Herzegovina the previous day, but they were unable to follow that up against a strong Austrian line-up.

Anne Keothavong, making her return to action following a six-month absence with a serious knee injury, slipped to a 6-2 6-2 defeat to world number 107 Patricia Mayr in the opening match.

Keothavong was broken twice in the first set and then unable to claw her way back from a 4-0 deficit in the second.

And Sybille Bammer opened an unassailable lead for Austria with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Elena Baltacha.

Baltacha, ranked 33 places lower than her opponent at 83, managed to break Bammer three times but experience told in the end.
Deserved

Great Britain captain Nigel Sears admitted Austria were deserved winners.

"Naturally I'm disappointed - we were beaten by a better team on the day," he said.

"It's a reflection of the strength of the Austrian team that they've won both singles against Belarus and us.

"I think the girls gave it their very best. There's no question that there's a lot more to come from Annie K.

"It's nice to see her playing again; I just feel it was a bit too much to ask from her on the day."

Austria completed the 3-0 rout later in the evening by winning the dead doubles rubber.

Sarah Borwell and Keothavong tried hard to salvage some pride but were beaten 6-4 6-4 by the pairing of Mayr and Yvonne Meusburger.