By Admin 
The Netherlands had no trouble dismantling India 3-0 in the last Group ‘G’ tie of the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium here on Sunday.
The Netherlands and India, which finished second and third, were relegated to Group I. Slovenia, which posted its second win on Saturday, advanced to the Qualifiers round.
Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Sahaja Yamalapalli were outclassed in the inconsequential tie.
The Netherlands fielded Anouk Koevermans, the third-ranked player in the nation, in the opening singles rubber against Shrivalli. Koevermans, playing instead of World No. 137 Arantxa Rus, showed no signs of nerves. The 21-year-old was full of energy, displaying fantastic court coverage.
“I told the captain that I want to run down every ball. This would force my opponents to make mistakes, which she did,” Koevermans, the World No. 198, said.
Inconsistent
Shrivalli had her moments, but failed to stay consistent, especially in the big points. “It is something I need to work on, because it happened yesterday as well,” Shrivalli said, on failing to convert break-point opportunities.
Sahaja was no match for World No. 87 Suzan Lamens, who was clinical in her approach. Sahaja, India’s best player, fell to a second straight set loss.
The Indian dream of securing a maiden spot in the Qualifiers round must now wait another year. Sahaja explained that the experience of playing at this high level will hold the players in good stead.
“We belong at this level, even though we lost to Slovenia and Netherlands. It perhaps comes down to the maturity level — doing better in important points, and staying focussed in every single point. These are the takeaways for us from this campaign,” Sahaja said.
The results: The Netherlands bt India 3-0 (Anouk Koevermans bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty 6-2, 6-4; Suzan Lamens bt Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-2, 6-3; Suzan Lamens & Demi Schuurs bt Ankita Raina & Prarthana Thombare 6-1, 6-1).