Israeli Suffer Fed Cup Failure
Israel's women's tennis side suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat by Great Britain as they saw their hopes of returning to the world's elite group ruthlessly ended by Judy Murray's side.
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However, played in front of a partisan home crowd, it was the Brits who whitewashed the Israelis as Julia Glushko was beaten 6-2, 6-1 by Anne Keothavong, while Shahar Peer was sent crashing by 6-4, 6-3 by Elena Baltacha.
Peer, who played the GB tie with an ankle injury, said: "I'm pretty drained. I had to play singles and doubles every day and for me that's really exhausting. For three days I played five matches, finished one day at midnight, one day at 10:30 and it's very tough on the body.
"I gave my all, but it wasn't enough. I think I did my best and that's all I can ask from myself. I hate to lose and I can't lie about that, but I do my best. It doesn't matter about the score, that's part of being a top athlete."
The Israelis misery was complete when Laura Robson and Heather Watson beat Glushko and Keren Shlomo in the doubles 6-2, 6-1.
Israel captain Lior Mor said: "The players gave their all and they deserve credit for that. I think we did the best we could and Group I must be our rightful place. We will try and get better by next year."
As a result, Israel will now face another year in Europe/Africa Zone Group I.
