Fed Cup

Fed Cup Day 1 Match Report: USA 2-0 Poland

Published

8 years ago

07/02/2016

Sloane Stephens and Venus Williams secure a comfortable lead for the United States over a Radwanska-less Polish team.

Neither team had their best team with them in Hawaii, but Poland was the team which was weakened much more noticeably, with neither Agnieszka nor Urszula Radwanska playing. USA didn’t have Serena Williams and Madison Keys with them, but with the depth of players they have, the U.S. team is more than decent with two Top 30 players (Venus and Sloane) playing their singles. The last tie of the day was started off by a match between the World No. 25 Sloane Stephens and the Poland’s team No. 1 Magda Linette, who never defeated a Top 30 player in her career. If you are a hardcore WTA fan, you could have seen these two play before. They met last year during Stephens’ title run in Washington, where she b Sloane+Stephens+2016+ASB+Classic+Day+6+VplHs0kGM2Dl eat her 6-2 6-1. Stephens was the clear favorite coming into this match, and that made her nervous a little, but she shook it off the moment she got her first break in the third game. From then on we saw Stephens just roll through points, however it must be said that Linette did a good job in putting balls back, it’s just that Sloane has the power and has the ability to hit through players like Linette. After a difficult game at 3-1, Sloane just kept on going with her game and in the end she took the set 6-2. In the second set, Stephens started to lose her patience in points, she would try to go for a big shot from a non ideal position and started losing simple points. Suddenly, she was 0-3 down, with Linette making only one winner. As I was watching the match, I was unsure of Sloane’s fitness, because she was moving a lot less, not making those little steps you need to position yourself well. Linette just kept doing her thing, putting the balls back, making her opponent move which in the second set was starting the prove to be a successful tactic. Sloane dropped her serve after making several unforced errors and was down 0-4. At this point both players knew what they had to do; Linette had to just keep playing back and Sloane had to go her winners sooner than she normally would. Linette was obviously starting to get nervous a little and wasn’t able to get to 5-0 and got broken, giving Stephens a chance to get back in the second set. Linette was starting to miss on shots that were going in earlier in the set which put pressure on herself. With Sloane holding twice and then breaking Linette’s serve, we were at 4-4 and the lead Linette had was erased. Crowd was really driving Sloane and you could feel the home crowd advantage for the USA. Stephens played really well in the key game at 4-4 on Linette’s serve, playing some great rallies ended with amazing winners. In the end Stephens managed to serve out pretty easily and get the first point against Poland in straight sets.

Sloane Stephens (USA) – Magda Linette (POL) 6-2 6-4

The second match saw Venus Williams play a Fed Cup debutant, Paula Kania. Venus was leading the H2H 1-0, having Venus+Williams+2016+Australian+Open+Previews+8X3ePJ_Preol their only meeting at Stanford in 2014. Venus came out with a heavily strapped left thigh and didn’t start strong, got broken, but she immediately broke back. Kania was playing better than usual and kept level with Venus who is looking to get her first win in 2016, and struggled a bit with the toss and the serve in general. The only thing worse was her usual weakness, movement. The set went on, and with Venus not playing well on serve and returning greatly, only 3 games were won by the serving player in the first set, so instead of holding serve, most of the time players were holding the return. Venus took the set 7-5 and started strong in the second set, winning 6 straight points, so she was leading 1-0 and 30-0, but wasn’t able to break Kania. Venus had several chances early in the set to jump away from Kania, she was leading 3-1, 40-15 and wasn’t able to confirm the break on her serve. Venus finally confirmed the break at 4-2, thus putting Kania in the difficult position of serving to stay in the match, in which she did not succeed. Venus kept exploiting Kania’s weak second serve, stepping over a meter into the court on the return.

Venus Williams (USA) – Paula Kania (POL) 7-5 6-2

Tomorrow’s matches:

Venus Williams – Magda Linette

Sloane Stephens – Paula Kania

Mattek-Sands/Vandeweghe – Jans-Ignacik/Rosolska

Fed Cup

Injury Heartbreak Motivates Australia In Billie Jean King Cup Tie With Mexico

Published

1 week ago

12/04/2024

Adam Addicott

SEVILLE, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 09: Storm Hunter of Team Australia reacts during the Billie Jean King Cup Finals group stage match between Australia and Kazakhstan at Estadio de La Cartuja on November 09, 2023 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images for ITF)

The captain of the Australian Billie Jean King Cup team says they are supporting one of their top players after she suffered a serious injury on the eve of their latest tie.

Storm Hunter, who is currently ranked No.3 in the world for doubles, has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon whilst training at a practice session on Thursday with her teammates. The severity of the injury means she will almost certainly be forced to pull out of this summer’s Olympic Games where she would have been a medal contender, as well as both the French Open and Wimbledon. Hunter has already won a WTA 1000 title this season in Dubai and was also runner-up in Indian Wells. In both of those tournaments, she was partnering Kateřina Siniaková.

“Unfortunately yesterday in our last practice before the tie, I went down and scans last night confirmed that I have ruptured my Achilles tendon,” said Hunter.
“I am devastated and heartbroken, but incredibly grateful to be around the team and I know I have a great group of people around me that will help me get back on the court as soon as possible.
“Thank you everyone so much everyone for your messages of support and love. I’m excited to stay for the tie and support our Aussie girls.”

According to the Australian press, team captain Sam Stosur said Hunter’s teammates are ‘rallying behind‘ her and “wishing her the very, very best and the quickest recovery possible.”

As a result of the injury, Daria Saville was brought in to play in her country’s singles match on the opening day of their tie against Mexico on Friday. The world No.94 was in top form as she charged to a comprehensive 6-1, 6-0, win over Marcela Zacarias in less than an hour.

“Yesterday was a pretty tough day for all of us, pretty emotional,” said Saville who has undergone surgery on her Achilles in the past.
“It’s so nice to have Stormy here supporting us. Not long ago that kind of happened to me … so we’re giving Stormy a lot of love.
“I felt like I was pretty determined and clearly that showed.”

Despite the blow, Australia is on the verge of beating Mexico. In the other singles match on the opening day, Arina Rodionova came back from a set down to beat Giuliana Olmos 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. With a 2-0 lead, they only need one more win to clinch the tie.

Fed Cup

Italian Captain Tathiana Garbin Reveals Rare Tumor Diagnoses After Team’s Loss At BJK Finals

Published

5 months ago

13/11/2023

Adam Addicott

Former top 30 player and captain of the Italian Billie Jean King Cup team Tathiana Garbin has publically announced that she is battling a serious health issue.

Just hours after her team lost to Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup final in Seville on Sunday, the 46-year-old issued a statement confirming that she is undergoing treatment for a rare tumor that has been found in her stomach. Garbin had her first surgery in October but will have to undergo further procedures in the coming weeks.

“I really wish to thank my Federation, which has constantly supported me with extraordinary solidarity and sensitivity,” Gabin said in a statement sent to the news agency Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA).
“Seville was a very important event for me, and I absolutely didn’t want to miss it despite being very close to my operation: the Federation has shown they placed full trust in me. There is nothing that makes me prouder than representing the colors of Italy. “

Gabin says she hopes to raise awareness of medical research and prevention by going public about her condition, as well as hoping to inspire others with her story. She is being treated by Professor Di Candio and Professor Morelli at the Cisanello Hospital in Pisa.

“I thank my BJ King Cup girls, who have shown me incredible love and support. Their presence and support have been a beacon of positivity in these difficult days,” she said in tribute to her team.
“However, I would like to inform you that I will have to undergo a second surgery, required by the treatment planned by the doctors. Thanks to the rapid recovery I have experienced, I am optimistic about being back on court.”

As a player, Garbin peaked at a ranking high of No.22 in singles and No.25 in doubles. Her sole singles title on the WTA Tour occurred in 2000 when she won the Budapest Open in Hungary. Seven years after that, she reached the fourth round of the French Open in what was her best-ever run at a major event.

Garbin has served as Italy’s Billie Jean King Cup captain since 2016.

Fed Cup

Doubles Delight: Great Britain Ousts France 2-1 In Davis Cup Classic

Published

7 months ago

17/09/2023

Adam Addicott

Image via https://twitter.com/the_LTA/

Great Britain has won the last spot in the Davis Cup finals by prevailing in a highly dramatic clash against France in front of a record crowd in Manchester.

With the must-win showdown level at 1-1, the tie was decided by a rollercoaster doubles match with Dan Evans and Neil Skupski battling their way past Nicolas Mahut and Édouard Roger-Vasselin 1-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(6). In what was one of the most tense matches ever involving the British team, four match points were saved by the hosts. Evans fended off three whilst serving 4-5 down in the decider before Skupski saved one when he was serving two games later. To add to the drama, in the decisive tiebreaker Britain lost a mini-break advantage twice before prevailing on their second match point.

“I don’t know how we’ve won that fight, sheer fight. Incredible effort from Dan to come out and win this match with me,” said Skupski.
“The first set wasn’t too good. We regrouped, took a toilet [break] and fought as hard as we could. Dan saving three points in the third set. The rest is history and we’re off to Malaga.”

The triumph caps off what has been a marathon day at The AO Arena with all three matches going the full distance. A total of more than 13,000 seats was sold for the tie which is a record for a single day of Davis Cup action in the UK.

Earlier in the day, Evans got Britain off to a perfect start by fighting back from a set and a break down to beat Arthur Fils 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in what was a close fight. At the end of the encounter, there was a tense exchange between the two which continued during the doubles match with Evans seen making gestures towards the Frenchman who was watching from the stands.

France’s sole victor was Ugo Humbert who beat former Wimbledon semi-finalist Cameron Norrie 7-6(5),3-6, 7-5. A new confidence blow to the British No.1 who has only won back-to-back matches in one out of his past five tournaments.

“The team is amazing. We get on very well. Everyone’s played a part. It’s all those guys and girls standing there (in the stands) who are amazing.” Captain Leon Smith commented.

Britain joins Australia in qualifying from Group B to November’s finals which will be held in Malaga. The team has won all three of their ties played in Manchester with their previous wins being over Australia and Switzerland earlier in the week.

In total, eight teams have secured their place in the finals. Group stages have also been held in Spain, Croatia and Italy with the top two nations from each of those events progressing.

Britain is seeking to win the Davis Cup title for only the second time in the Open Era after 2015.