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Agnieszka Radwanska on Fed Cup in Israel: 'It was just awful'

Agnieszka Radwanska was displeased with the Fed Cup experience in Israel. (Getty Images) INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Agnieszka Radwanska said the Polish Fed Cup
Agnieszka Radwanska on Fed Cup in Israel: 'It was just awful'
Agnieszka Radwanska on Fed Cup in Israel: 'It was just awful'

Agnieszka Radwanska was displeased with the Fed Cup experience in Israel. (Getty Images)

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Agnieszka Radwanska said the Polish Fed Cup team has written a letter to the ITF complaining about the crowd and tournament conditions during the Europe/Africa Group I playoff in Eilat, Israel in early February. Radwanska, who gave a remarkably curt press conference after the tie, was disappointed in the umpire's inability to control the hostile crowd during Poland's tie against Israel.

"[There were] a lot of things going on that shouldn't be on that level," Radwanska told a small group of reporters during her pre-tournament press conference at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday. "A lot of unfair behavior and things going on there. They wanted me to go to the press conference. After those kind of matches I shouldn't really go. I went but my answers just showed how the matches went."

Here's video of that infamous press conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1-Pz4fxH9c

Radwanska has been a Fed Cup stalwart for her country throughout her career and is used to the type of partisan atmosphere that it can generate, but she said the atmosphere in Eilat was the worst she's ever played in.

"I kind of expect they're not going to cheer for us obviously. But you just expect them to be fair.

"Fans, just the crowd -- the officials and chair umpire have no control over them. I really didn't expect something going on like this on this kind of level. It was very disappointing. There was also no security. We didn't really feel safe there. There was no control. It was just awful."

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Courtney Nguyen
COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.