For Steffi Graf, it was a lost weekend.
First came her first loss of the year in singles, when she fell to Kimiko Date to give Japan a 2-1 lead in its Fed Cup competition against Germany.Then, after Anke Huber pulled Germany even by defeating Naoko Sawamatsu, Graf and Huber lost the decisive doubles match to Ai Sugiyama and Kyoko Nagatsuka.
"It was the biggest win in my career," Date said after defeating Graf 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 12-10 in 3 hours, 24 minutes Sunday in Tokyo. "But I can't compare a team win to a tournament victory."
With the surprising victory, Japan will be home for the July 13-14 semifinal against the United States, meaning Monica Seles, currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, may be available.
In other first-round World Group action, the United States edged Austria, Spain stopped South Africa and France eliminated Argentina, all by identical 3-2 scores.