Russia Now Has A Fed Cup Team

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 28th October 2013

Russia Now Has A Fed Cup Team

epa03672043 Russian team members Maria Kirilenko (red cap), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (R), Ekaterina Makarova (2nd L) and Elena Vesnina (L) celebrate their victory over the Slovakian team in the Tennis Federation Cup semi final match between Russia and Slovakia in Moscow, Russia, 21 April 2013. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV |

Russia has announced it will field a Fed Cup team.

The selection mess that resulted in three of Russia’s prospective Fed Cup final team for this week in Sardinia actually playing in the second tier WTA Championships or Tournament of Champions in Sofia and a junior line up eventually picked to face Italy, has been laid squarely at the feet of veteran captain Shamil Tarpischev.

According to several players who have made themselves unavailable this week, Tarpischev turned a deaf ear to their instructions to him that it was highly unlikely they would be up for selection. Others maintain they simply weren’t asked and had made other arrangements.

The 65 year-old Tarpischev, President of the Russian Tennis Federation since 1999 and captain of both the Davis and Fed Cup teams for even longer, eventually named a line-up reading 138th-ranked Alexandra Panova, no. 186 Alisa Kleybanova, no. 231 Irina Khromacheva, and no. 317 Margarita Gasparyan.

Meanwhile Maria Kirilenko (world no.18), Elena Vesnina (no. 25)and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (no.26) are in Sofia, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Makarova and Nadia Petrova simply don’t want to play.

For various reasons none of Russia’s top 11 players will be playing in Sardinia and Vesnina revealed: “I can say one thing that our federation knew in advance that me, Kirilenko and Pavlyuchenkova knew we were going to play Sofia because we won tournaments in January and February.

“Me and Nastya told Tarpischev in the summer that we are thinking of playing Sofia. I told him that it’s going to be my choice, you have to find someone else just in case and he didn’t do it.”

Vesnina added that Tarpischev delayed until the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, played earlier this month, until starting to seriously ask players about their availability. “That’s the mistake he did,” she said.

Makarova, the star of Russia’s quarter and semifinal wins over Japan and the Slovak Republic, maintains she is unable to play because of an ongoing right wrist injury, although she was able to contest the semi and final of the doubles competition at the TEB BNP Paribas sponsored WTA Championships in Istanbul.

Vesnina, Kirilenko, and Pavlyuchenkova also played in the Fed Cup semifinals. Makarova was not given the option of playing only doubles in the Fed Cup final.

“In Fed Cup it’s different, you give more than in other matches. When we won against Slovakia I was really excited to go to Italy because they are a big team and we played so many times, it could have been a good match,” said Makarov. “But I’m not ready for singles. I wished to play and I love to play for my team because I played two [ties] this year and it was great results, but with my wrist I can’t. I just don’t want to go and sit there.”

She added: “It’s a strange situation because three girls qualified for Sofia and we got to the final of Fed Cup at the same time. I don’t know why that would happen in one year. Maybe with the calendar we should make a change. Move Fed Cup somewhere, maybe even earlier. It’s a really bad situation and we’re not feeling comfortable about this.”

Petrova was also playing doubles in Istanbul “I didn’t get a phone call, nobody contacted me,” she said. “I did tell Tarpischev I wasn’t planning to play as I have a different focus now and limited time left. For the older players it’s more a choice to take some time off and play for themselves. We’ve already played so many years for the federation and the older you get it becomes more physically difficult.”

“But you cannot have two big championships at the same time.”

Topics: 10sballs.com, Alexandra Panova, Alisa Kleybanova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Elena Vesnina, Fed Cup, Irina Khromacheva, Margarita Gasparyan, Maria Kirilenko, Russia, Tarpischev, Tennis, Tennis News, Wta