Switzerland has reached their second consecutive Fed Cup semifinal after grabbing two crucial wins in a highly animated encounter against France at the Palexpo in Geneva.
Day two of the tie started with a three-hour epic between Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Bacsinszky. Opportunities came and went for both players before Bacsinszky prevailed 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5, to hand Switzerland a 2-1 lead. Throughout the encounter, the Swiss player was troubled by problems with both of her knees, prompting her to take a timeout half way through the deciding set.
“I just like fell on the floor. It was the knee I injured at the end of 2015 that took me away from tennis for three months because it is the internal ligament.” Said Bacsinszky.
“That’s why we had a lot of checks to do. Right now it’s ok and I don’t need to tape it yet.”
Bacsinszky’s roller-coaster win has left a sour taste in the mouth of Mladenovic, who openly criticised her opponent following the loss. During her press conference, the world No.31 accused her Swiss rival of manipulating the timeout rules to her advantage.
“There are rules, she use them to the maximum, it’s her way of fighting, she’s known for it, I do not have those values.” Mladenovic claimed.
The mood of the French camp deteriorated further when Belinda Bencic produced a clinical 6-3, 6-4, win over Pauline Parmentier to hand Switzerland an unassailable lead, booking their place in the semifinals. The former top 10 player fended off two break points she faced in the match and hit a total of 18 winners.
“It’s obviously a great feeling, but hats off to Timea (Bacsinszky) too. She won an amazing singles before which made it a lot easier for me to go out and win the third point.” Said Bencic. “I’m happy I brought something to the team. I wish every match was like this.”
Switzerland will play Belarus in the next round, who will play in the semifinals of the tournament for the first time after defeating the Netherlands.
Pliskova and Strycova secures Czech-mate over Spain
Current champions Czech Republic booked their semifinal place in less dramatic fashion. Facing Spain, the highly anticipated clash between Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza was a one-sided win for the Czech team. Pliskova, who has defeated her Spanish opponent four times on the WTA Tour since 2015, strolled to a 6-2, 6-2, win in just 62 minutes.
“My tennis was much better than yesterday, so I enjoyed it more today. I think she (Muguruza) doesn’t like a fast game because she likes to dictate. I was serving well and you cannot do much about it if somebody is serving well.” The US Open runner-up said.
Getting the vital third win was Barbora Strycova. Racing towards a straight sets victory against Lara Arrubarrena, the world No.17 experienced a wobble in the closing stages of the match. Leading the encounter 6-4, 5-2, the Czech failed to convert two match points as Spain managed to close the deficit to 5-4. Arrubarrena’s late resurgence was not enough to spoil the Czech party as Strycova held her nerve to win 6-4, 6-4.
“This one was very tough for me.” Strycova told fedcup.com following her win. “I couldn’t close it out. Even leading 5-2, I already had two match points!”
“It’s very special. Especially when we play at home. The crowd loves us and we love them. They support us so much, it’s great to give them these matches.
Spain did manage to get a consolation win when Sara Sorribes Tormo and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez defeated Lucie Safarova and Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 to reduced Czech Republic’s win to 3-2.
The Czech team will play either USA or Germany in the last four. April’s encounter will be the ninth consecutive time that they have reached the semifinals of the Fed Cup.
The next stage of the Fed Cup will take place between April 23-24.
