A little round, two games if we want to play on words and then already goes: the French team is already leaving the Billie Jean King Cup, the new formula of the Fed Cup.
The name given to this tournament in tribute to a legend of fate did not bring luck to Les Bleues.
They were however the title holders after their victory in the last Fed Cup before Covid in Australia in 2019.
Two days after a compromising defeat against Canada (2-1), the French were to beat Russia 3-0 this Wednesday in Prague.
A very delicate mission that they did not succeed in carrying out.
Winner of Ekaterina Alexandrova (3-6, 6-4, 6-3), at the start of the day, Clara Burel had maintained the hope of an exploit to see the semi-finals of the tournament.
But the performance of the 78th player in the world was not enough.
In the process, Alizé Cornet (31 years old, 60th world) the leader of the Blue in Prague bowed to world number 16 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (7-5, 4-6, 2-6).
For a team that was not to lose a single game, that's one loss too many.
The last match, the double that must take place now counts for nothing.
Cornet's defeat seals the fate of the French women who can therefore return home while the Russians can already prepare for their match for the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup, the new look Fed Cup that France won in 1997, 2003 and 2019
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