Four nations are one win away from a place in the quarterfinal round of the 2002 Fed Cup at the end of day one of the World Group ties taking place on 27-28 April. Saturday’s matches have thrown up some surprises in the first round of the competition.
Defending champions Belgium look on course for victory, establishing a 2-0 lead over Australia in Brussels, while in Bratislava, the Slovaks have a 2-0 advantage over visiting Switzerland. Italian sisters Antonella and Adriana Serra Zanetti thrilled their home crowd in Milan with two wins against Sweden. In Charlotte, Austria upset the form book by denying the United States both points in the opening day’s play and could now create the biggest shock of the weekend.
By defeating Seles 76 62, No. 75-ranked Schwartz recorded her first win over a top ten player since defeating Venus Williams at Roland Garros in 1999. “We have a big chance to win here and we will try everything. But it’s still very open because the USA has really great players,” she said. Schwartz played consistently throughout the match while Seles struggled with her serve. The American had five set points in the first set: “I just tightened up way too much.”
The United States had to forfeit the second scheduled match between Jennifer Capriati and Evelyn Fauth when captain Billie Jean King ruled Capriati out of the team on Friday night. On Sunday the Australian Open champion’s place in the first reverse singles will been taken by Meghann Shaughnessy.
In Belgium the day unfolded as many predicted, with the combined efforts of Henin and Clijsters accounting for Nicole Pratt and Alicia Molik respectively. A nervous Henin struggled to get going on the clay in the opening match; she lost her serve in the opening game and only regained her focus with a break back in the eighth game. The Belgian No. 2 won the set, but Pratt, ranked 33 places below her, took the second before Henin raised her game and swept through the final set to win 64 46 60. Despite her loss, Pratt was pleased with her fighting performance and felt optimistic about her match against Clijsters on Sunday.
There was no trouble on Saturday however for world No. 3 Kim Clijsters, who, in her return match from shoulder injury, defeated Molik 60 62. “Kim played wonderfully”, Molik said. “Obviously it’s not the result I would have hoped for, but she was just too good.”
Janette Husarova got the Slovak Republic off to a good start by upsetting Patty Schnyder in a two hour 40 minute battle at the NTC Stadium in Bratislava, overcoming cramping in the third set to win 76 57 75. To the delight of the crowd, teammate Daniela Hantuchova followed up with a more straightforward 64 75 victory over up-and-coming Swiss 16-year-old Myriam Casanova.
There was another long first match in Milan, as Antonella Serra Zanetti edged past Sweden’s Asa Svensson 67 63 108 in just under three and a half hours. The Italian led 5-2 in the third set but was forced to save four match points at 65 after her opponent fought back. At 76, after the Swede had treatment for leg cramps, Serra Zanetti saved a fifth match point, then took the match at her first opportunity four games later. “It was my first Fed Cup match and I know it will be a very important win for my career and I will remember it for a long time,” Serra Zanetti, 21, said. “I don’t have the most beautiful shots maybe, but I always fight on court.” Older sister Adriana dropped just two games in the second singles, defeating Sofia Arvidsson 61 61.
Elsewhere, the battle is on in Argentina, where clay-loving Paola Suarez shocked the French favourites by defeating world No. 11 Sandrine Testud 75 64 to level their tie at the end of Saturday. The Argentinian No. 1 overcame a rankings gap of 31 places to win a nervous encounter in which neither player could hold serve from the fourth game of the second set. Amelie Mauresmo had earlier defeated Mariana Diaz-Oliva 75 62 after some close play in the first set and problems with her back which required on court treatment.
Five-times Fed Cup champion Spain is tied 1-1 with Hungary in Almeria and it was the visitors who took the first point, No. 77-ranked Zsofia Gubacsi upsetting Angeles Montolio, who suffered a foot injury during the match, 63 36 62. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario levelled proceedings with her straight sets defeat of Rita Kuti Kis 64 62, in the process breaking the record for the most matches won in Fed Cup. The Spanish 30-year-old has now won 67 matches in the competition, more than any other woman and breaking her previous tie with Britain’s Virginia Wade.
In Dresden, Russian No. 1 Elena Dementieva gave last year’s runners-up the early lead, defeating Germany’s Martina Muller 64 62. However Barbara Rittner surprised Russia with a three-set victory over Anastasia Myskina, ranked 38 places ahead of her, winning 75 36 75 in two hours 14 minutes. “I’m good for a surprise,” the German 29-year-old said. “Now we’re capable of accomplishing anything.”
There was a shock too for Charleston champion Iva Majoli in Croatia’s home tie with the Czech Republic. Despite the support of Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic in the stands, she lost the second singles to Iveta Benesova 64 61. The inexperienced Russian 19-year-old has played only one match on the WTA tour and is making her debut this weekend in Fed Cup. The score stands at 1-1 in Bol as Jelena Kostanic had earlier played through light rain to defeat Sandra Kleinova 76 64. “It was one of those days when anything you do goes wrong,” said Majoli.
This weekend’s losing nations will have to compete in the Play Off Round on 20-21 July to stand a chance of keeping their World Group places in next year’s Fed Cup competition.
