Fed Cup Review: First Day

Here is a review of the first day of the first Fed Cup ties of the year (Argentina v USA is not included):



France v Italy: The Orleans crowd will go home feeling more than deflated from the action they saw today. During the afternoon, things looked like they couldn't go any better. Amelie Mauresmo was a set and a break up against her higher ranked opponent, Flavia Pennetta, and then Alize Cornet would take on Francesca Schiavone, ranked about twenty places lower than her. However, then Mauresmo lost her serve, and the second set. She looked as though she could redeem herself in the final set, when she led 4-1, but then she lost that too. The crowd was silent as Schiavone won the first set of her match 6-1, yet then Cornet halted this, and took a 4-0 lead in the second, which translated to 6-2 success. The final set was tense, and the pair traded breaks of serve early on, but it was Schiavone who prevailed, winning it 8-6. France will go home defeated as they know that these two matches today were within touching distance.


Flavia Pennetta (Italy) bt Amelie Mauresmo (France) 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
Francesca Schiavone (Italy) bt Alize Cornet (France) 6-1, 2-6, 8-6


Czech Republic v Spain: Last year's finalists Spain, without their top player Anabel Medina Garrigues, took on the Czech team, who were newcomers to World Group I. Carla Suarez Navarro, straight from her Melbourne conquests, looked erratic and off-form as she lost to teenager Petra Kvitova in straight sets. Iveta Benesova looked as though she would breeze through her match against Nuria Llagostera Vives when she romped through the first set 6-1. However, Llagostera Vives responded by winning the second by the same margin, and then took the third 6-4 to keep Spain afloat. There is a lot to play for tomorrow in Brno.

Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) bt Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-4, 6-4
Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain) bt Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4

Russia v China: The trophy that the Russians have treasured for the past four years out of five looks like it is going to stay in their cabinet. A weakened Chinese team, without Jie Zheng, Na Li or Shuai Peng, never looked a threat today against two top ten players, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva. Kuznetsova opened the proceedings in Moscow against Zi Yan, and Yan put up a reasonable fight, but it was no match for Kuznetsova's power, and she won in straight sets. Dementieva looked even more supreme, taking apart Shuai Zhang with considerable ease. Unless the Williams girls show up, the trophy is surely Russia's, but what astounds us is that, unlike Serbia, Russia could have fielded their D team today and could probably have achieved the same result.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) bt Zi Yan (China) 6-2, 6-4
Elena Dementieva (Russia) bt Shuai Zhang (China) 6-3, 6-0

World Group II Results:

Serbia 2-0 Japan
A Ivanovic bt A Sugiyama 6-4, 6-4
J Jankovic bt A Morita 6-1, 6-0

Switzerland 1-1 Germany
P Schnyder bt AL Groenefeld 7-6, 6-3
T Bacsinszky l. to S Lisicki 0-6, 4-6

Slovakia 2-0 Belgium
D Cibulkova bt K Flipkens 7-6, 6-1
D Hantuchova bt Y Wickmayer 7-6, 6-3

Ukraine 1-1 Israel
A Bondarenko bt T Obziler 6-4, 6-4
K Bondarenko l. to S Peer 3-6, 7-6, 3-6