While Diane Parry, on the verge of giving up, had scored the first point, Clara Burel was unable to tame Camila Osorio. 1-1, ball in the middle, the Blues will have to win two matches tomorrow to stay in the world group in the Billie Jean King Cup.
On paper, an easy point for the Blues to take. Facing a rival ranked 180th in the world although a clay court specialist, Parry should logically take place. After a sluggish start, she quickly got the measure of her rival, who was accumulating double faults and poor quality service games. 6-2 in 35 minutes, everything was working like clockwork. And then…
And then in the first game of the second set, the Habs ended up on the ground, screaming in pain after locking their knee. The images were chilling, and we immediately thought that she would not return to the match, she was limping so low. But a good strap and it starts again, it seems.
She held on to the shock as best she could, led 4-2before seeing her rival come back up to par. The service game 4-4 was then decisive, the Frenchwoman would save her courage three break points before concluding on the next game, in front of an opponent who did not take advantage of her condition. 1-0 Francethe opportunity was great to drive the point home.
But that was going to require quite a performance from Burel. If she was at 2-2 in her face-to-face with this rival, the Colombian had won both oppositions on earth, and therefore started as favorite. But given the scenario, the Frenchwoman may have a ton of regrets.
Quite simply because she had this ascendancy necessary for victory, leading by a break in each round, even serving for the second, but never managing to drive the point home. Too many broken break points gone, too many missed opportunities and a confusing lack of control for a player who is clearly anything but a clay specialist. Too bad, because Osorio seemed “taken”, and it seems that we will have to tremble until the end of the weekend.
