Romania beat Great Britain in Fed Cup tie as Johanna Konta and Heather Watson lose

The win clinches Romania’s place in World Group II next year and sends Britain back to the Europe/Africa Zone.

The tie was finely poised at 1-1 overnight but Simona Halep comprehensively beat Johanna Konta to give the hosts a 2-1 lead in Constanta.

Irina-Camelia Begu beat Heather Watson 6-4 7-5 to secure Romania the win, and while Jocelyn Rae and Laura Robson excelled to beat Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu 6-3 1-6 10-8, it mattered little as the tie was already wrapped up.

Konta was left in tears on Saturday apparently because of remarks made by Romanian captain Ilie Nastase during her match with Sorana Cirstea, which resulted in play being briefly suspended.

Nastase was eventually banned from the tie because of "unsportsmanlike conduct" and had his accreditation removed by the International Tennis Federation, which has launched an investigation into his conduct.

Konta defended herself after Cirstea said on Sunday that she had "overreacted" by crying in their match.

"With all due respect to Sorana, she was not in my shoes at that end of the court being verbally threatened," Konta was quoted as saying by British media. "Any abuse is not all right.

"But when it's a couple of metres away from you, screaming at you, I think that's a different ball game. It's not something that you truly know how it affects you until you experience it, so I do believe she may have been slightly unaware of the events that happened."