WTA: Grönefeld:\u0022This Fed Cup victory will be forever in my memory\u0022.

After the Fed Cup triumph in Minsk, Anna-Lena Grönefeld experienced a true travel odyssey. The double specialist retired in the opening round of Doha, but will never forget the memories of Belarus.

From Ulrike Weinrich from Doha

Anna-Lena Grönefeld did not appear to be a Fed Cup heroine at first sight when she stood in the sporadically arranged Mixed Zone of the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha late Wednesday evening. The journey odyssey had left its mark on the 32-year-old, as had the 4-6,3-6 defeat at the opening match of the Premier 5 tournament in the double competition alongside American Raquel Atawo against Elise Mertens/Demi Schuurs (Belgium/Netherlands).

Only when the term \u0022Fed Cup\u0022 was mentioned did Grönefeld suddenly begin to shine with the numerous floodlights on the grounds. In her mind’s eye, the special moments of the surprise coup of the German team against host Belarus (3:2) once again came to an end. And the disappointment over the knockout that had just been suffered. on Court 2 seemed to be blown away by the nasty wind that came over from the desert to Doha on the third day of the tournament.

\u0022There are those Fed Cups that will be remembered forever, and you won’t forget them. And last weekend will definitely be one of them,\u0022said Grönefeld in the tennisnet interview. Together with Tatjana Maria (Bad Saulgau) she had won the deciding doubles, the reliability in person. After 2:30 hours – with 6:7 (4:7), 7:5,6:4; Matchball number five had made the success of the German team boss Jens Gerlach’s new selection on Sunday perfect.

It was the starting signal for a party night that didn’t degenerate, as Grönefeld confirmed with a smile at the Qatar Total Open. Already on Monday morning at four o’ clock the night was over for her and her congenial double partner \u0022Tadde\u0022 Maria. The duo was to fly from Minsk via Moscow to Doha to their next destination. We couldn’t check in at the airport because we needed a transit visa for Moscow – contrary to our repeatedly verified information,\u0022said Grönefeld.

In their distress they bought new tickets via the Internet. Previously, however, the old ones still had to be cancelled. The carriage Maria/Grönefeld now headed via Istanbul to the Qatari capital. At the Bosporus there was still a bit of hectic going on when the luggage had to be picked up and checked in again and the queue at the passport control was of course very long \u0022At some point we were just tired and flat despite the Fed Cup euphoria. A lot of sleep was then made in the plane,\u0022reported Grönefeld. On Monday evening the goal was finally reached.

But Mary, too, was clearly exhausted after the Odyssey. The 30-year-old had lost her singles match against Carina Witthöft (Hamburg) in two sets on Tuesday. Grönefeld planned a training-free day after her retirement for Thursday,\u0022relaxing a bit\u0022 after the hectic pace of the past few days. But the Fed Cup semi-finals against the Czech Republic on 21/22 March were not enough. It would of course be madness if we could make it to the final,\u0022said double specialist Grönefeld. 2014 was the last time the DTB squad was in the final – and lost 3-1 to host Czech Republic in Prague. Grönefeld was missing from the line-up at that time.

She, who last year qualified for the season finale of the best eight doubles teams together with her former partner Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) for the first time, will fly to Dubai on Friday for the next tournament. Then hopefully not via Istanbul.