Women Tennis Update – Fed Cup Saturday, February 9, 2013

Written by: Staff on 8th February 2013

Women Tennis Update - Fed Cup Saturday, February 9, 2013

epa03540671 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in action during her match against Laura Robson of Great Britain, round two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 17 January 2013. EPA/JOE CASTRO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Women’s Look Forward: Fed Cup

It’s tempting to say that, as goes Petra Kvitova, so goes the Czech Republic in Fed Cup.

It’s a little exaggerated. They have a solid #2 singles player in Lucie Safarova, and they have the wold’s #2 doubles team in Hradecka/Hlavackova. But Kvitova is their key player — the one who, on her good days, can stand up to anyone.

And we haven’t a clue what sort of state Kvitova is in these days.

Of course, the Australians, who face the Czechs, have the same problem. Their #1 is Samantha Stosur, and she had a miserable Australian season. And they don’t even have the support of a strong #2 singles player; the rest of their team is Casey Dellacqua, Jarmila Gajdosova (who is the current choice for #2 singles), and Ashleigh Barty. Dellacqua and Barty made the Australian Open doubles final, so they have fair doubles chances, But there are a lot of other ifs in that lineup.

If the Australians have Ifs, the Americans have If Onlys. If only Serena Williams were here. If only Sloane Stephens were here. If only Venus Williams were here. What they have, instead, is Varvara Lepchenko and Jamie Hampton for singles, Liezel Huber for doubles, and Melanie Oudin as emergency fill-in. Lepchenko is Top 25, and Hampton has been climbing; it’s not an awful team. But they’re up against an Italian lineup headed by Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci — who happen to be the world’s top doubles team, plus they’re both Top Twenty in singles. And they’re playing on clay, which makes things even rougher for the Americans.

It is interesting to note that the Italians don’t have Francesca Schiavone on their team; the rest of their lineup is Karin Knapp and Nastassja Burnett. But, these days, Schiavone might not have been much of an asset anyway. Flavia Pennetta isn’t here, either, but that’s just injury. The Italians officially listed Burnett/Knapp for doubles. That will surely happen only if the tie is settled. If it’s live, then Errani/Vinci will doubtless be called upon to face Huber and someone.

Russia doesn’t have its ideal team — no Maria Sharapova, no Nadia Petrova — but with Maria Kirilenko, Ekaterina Makarova, and Elena Vesnina, they have three players who are all ranked higher than any members of Japan’s team of Ayumi Morita, Kimiko Date-Krumm (playing #2 singles at age 42!), Misaki Doi, and Kurumi Nara. (Russia was supposed to have Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as well, but she pulled out at the last minute, replaced by Margarita Gasparyan.) And Makarova/Vesnina are also one of the world’s top doubles teams (although the announced doubles lineup is Gasparyan/Vesnina, with Kirilenko and Makarova playing singles). That tie looks like it has a good chance of being a 5-0 sweep, or at least a 4-0-and-didn’t-play-the-fifth-match sweep.

The good news for Serbia is, Bojana Jovanovski has been playing well. The bad news is, they’re going to need her, because Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic are both injured. The rest of their lineup is Vesna Dolonc (who will be playing #2 singles in her Fed Cup debut) and Aleksandra Krunic; when Ivanovic pulled out on Thursday, they added Ivana Jorovic, but it’s hard to imagine that she will play. They’ll be playing on indoor hardcourt against a Slovak team of Dominika Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova (who is in a horrid slump this year), Magdalena Rybarikova, and Jana Cepelova. Even with Hantuchova in awful form, the Slovaks clearly have the advantage.

Turning to World Group II, we find that… Marion Bartoli is out after all. She pulled out on Thursday, leaving a French team of Alize Cornet, Kristina Mladenovic, who did so well in Paris, Virginie Razzano, and Pauline Parmentier (the last-minute replacement for Bartoli). And it looks as if there is something wrong with Cornet as well; she is the top player the French have left, but she is not listed in the singles. Bad news, given that they are drawn against Germany. The German team is also rather attenuated — Angelique Kerber is out, and of course Andrea Petkovic is never healthy these days. But with Julia Goerges and Sabine Lisicki on their side, the Germans look pretty strong, and they also has a promising youngster in Annika Beck. The French needed Bartoli, and now they don’t have her.

Spain remains a shadow of its former glory; their team is Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Silvia Soler-Espinos, Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, and doubles specialist Nuria Llagostera Vives. But they’re against the Ukrainians, who have a team that is even weaker: Lesia Tsurenko, Elina Svitolina, Yuliya Beygelzimer, and Olga Savchuk. Given that Spain is hosting the tie, their chances look pretty good.

Sweden’s team has been the same for the last several years: Sofia Arvidsson, Joanna Larsson, and the rest don’t matter. They’re up against an Argentine team of Paula Ormaechea, Maria Irigoyen, Florencia Molinero, and Mailen Auroux — all ranked below #150. Frankly, it seems as if there are a lot of teams in the zonals who could beat this lineup. It’s hard to believe Argentina will be able to maintain its place, let alone move up.

Belgium may not have Kim Clijsters or Justine Henin any more, but with Yanina Wickmayer and fast-rising Kirsten Flipkens, they have a decent singles team (although no depth). Switzerland has Italian refugee Romina Oprandi, plus Stefanie Voegele, Timea Bacsinszky, and Amra Sadikovic. That doesn’t look good.

©Daily tennis news wire

Topics: Fed Cup, Lucie Safarova, Petra Kvitova, Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, women tennis news