Anne Keothavong has been inspired by Gareth Southgate to promote a positive atmosphere in her squad after admitting she regrets getting “angry” with a former team-mate when she played for Great Britain.
Emma Raducanu has revealed playing spike ball, inside jokes and lots of laughs have helped the 2024 squad through to a very winnable Billie Jean King Cup semi-final against Slovakia on Tuesday.
And the former US Open champion is combining brilliantly with British No.1 Katie Boulter on and off the court as GB have yet to drop a set yet. “She’s such a friendly girl,” said Raducanu.
It is very different from much of Keothavong’s career where she and the late Elena Baltacha, who later became a close friend, had a fierce rivalry as Britain’s top two players. That caused tension for the national team like in old England squads between players from Manchester United and Chelsea.
Southgate’s skilled man-management made playing for The Three Lions fun again and reached two major finals. And now Keothavong, 41, has taken her team to within two wins of a first ever British win in the Billie Jean King Cup by also fostering a strong squad spirit.
“I’m a big fan of Gareth Southgate,” said the GB captain. “It’s important for me in this competition that the girls find a way to gel and get on. And you know from my previous experience as a player, that wasn’t always the case.
“I don’t think it’s any secret, when I was playing that myself and Elena Baltacha had our ups and downs, but towards the end, we were pretty tight.
“And when she passed away, you just think: ‘What was that?’ because it was just such a waste to spend so much time being angry and p***** off of each other and it was so totally unnecessary. So it means more to me to see my players being friends and getting on because you know we only get one time.”
Her fellow ex-British No.1 Baltacha tragically died from liver cancer aged 30 in 2014.
And Keothavong said their former Fed Cup team-mate Heather Watson is now “the life and soul of the group”.
The GB skipper added: “She’s got fantastic energy, Heather and Liv (Oliva Nicholls) are a double act that make the rest of us laugh a lot. They are like my kids!”
And Raducanu added: “We play spike ball to warm-up which is pretty fun and that gets the team spirit going. And when we do come together at the dinner table, we’re always laughing. There’s also been a few inside jokes that have kind of kept us going. I’m gonna keep them under wraps for now – it is nothing bad – and then we’ll explain it at the end.”
The end should not come against Slovakia tomorrow, the smallest nation at the finals who won the title in Spain in 2002 when Daniela Hantuchova was the star.
Now their top player is world No.43 Rebecca Sramkova. But Raducanu warned: “I think on paper, it’s very different to reality. It’s going to be a tough battle.”
Slovakia have already beaten the USA and Australia and Viktoria Hruncakova said: “We have nothing to lose. That’s why I think we enjoy it so much.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk