FED CUP TENNIS: THE UNITED STATES IS TIED WITH ITALY, 1-1 & MORE TENNIS RESULTS AND QUOTES

Written by: Staff on 18th April 2015

FED CUP TENNIS: THE UNITED STATES IS TIED WITH ITALY, 1-1 & MORE TENNIS RESULTS AND QUOTES |

Our U.S. Fed Cup team is set to take on Italy! Good luck to #Serena Williams, Lauren Davis, Christina McHale, Alison Riske and Captain Mary Joe Fernandez. Double tap for support! @serenawilliams @christina_mchale @riske4rewards – photo by @ustennis

United States vs. Italy

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas

2015 World Group Playoff

Circolo Tennis Brindisi

Brindisi, Italy * April 18-19

Below are Day Two notes, as well as quotes from the U.S. Fed Cup Team.

The U.S. Fed Cup media guide can be found on USTA.com here.

SUMMARY OF The First Day

The United States is tied with Italy, 1-1, after day one of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Playoff held at Circolo Tennis Brindisi in Brindisi, Italy.

In the first match of the day, world No. 1 Serena Williams defeated world No. 36 Camila Giorgi, 7-6(5), 6-2. Williams, playing in her second Fed Cup tie of the year, is now 12-0 in singles play in Fed Cup competition. Giorgi, who was competing in her fourth consecutive Fed Cup tie for Italy, now holds a 2-3 singles record. This was their first meeting since 2013 in Charleston, S.C., where Williams won the match, 6-2, 6-3.

Lauren Davis made her Fed Cup singles debut today in the second match against world No. 15 Sara Errani. However, Errani proved to be too tough and defeated Davis, 6-1, 6-2, in one hour and 10 minutes. Davis had previously played doubles in Fed Cup last year in the World Group Quarterfinal against Italy in Cleveland, where she won the dead doubles rubber with Madison Keys. Errani is now 12-8 in Fed Cup singles play.

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 99 nations taking part in 2015. The U.S. is 9-11 in away ties since the World Group format was in instituted in 1995 and holds an overall 144-35 record. The U.S. leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, the last coming in 2000.

The U.S. IS TIED WITH ITALY, 1-1

DAY/LOCAL TIME MATCH PAIRING

Saturday, 1:00 p.m. Singles A: Serena Williams (USA) def. Camila Giorgi, 7-6(5), 6-2

Singles B: Sara Errani (ITA) def. Lauren Davis, 6-1, 6-2

Sunday, 11:30 a.m. Singles C: Serena Williams (USA) vs. Sara Errani (ITA)

Singles D: Lauren Davis (USA) vs. Camila Giorgi (ITA)

Doubles: Alison Riske/Christina McHale (USA)

vs. Flavia Pennetta/Karin Knapp (ITA)

THEY SAID IT…

SERENA WILLIAMS

On the tight first set against Giorgi…

The first set was tough. I needed to stay calm and make more shots, especially the deeper ones. I think I was hitting them short. So once I started hitting deeper, things worked out.

On playing on clay…

I have been practicing a little bit on clay. It was my first match that I have been able to play on clay and I haven’t played that many points. I think that factored in a little bit.

On Camila Giorgi…

Camila played really well and had a great game plan. That is the player she is. She goes for it a lot. I love to watch her play because she is so feisty on the court. I love her game how she hits so hard. I know her game really well, so it was not a surprise.

On the crowd in Brindisi…

It was great. It was packed out there today. Italy has so many great players and the team is stacked with a lot of great players, so we have our work cut out. The support has been really great for Fed Cup.

On participating in Fed Cup next year…

I am having so much fun. I would definitely love to play next year, so we will see. I have not discussed it with Mary Joe. I’m always open and willing to play. I wanted to play last year, but unfortunately, I was injured. As long as I’m able to play I would love to play.

LAUREN DAVIS

On playing her first Fed Cup singles match…

It was a good experience for me. I thought I handled myself well. Sara played very well and was solid and consistent. Given the situation, I think I did okay.

CAPTAIN MARY JOE FERNANDEZ

On Serena Williams’ match…

I thought it was a great match and Giorgi played great throughout. It was tough to get ahead on her serve. She was going with a big second serve, as well. She had time and she could really hit it. She is one of the hardest players on the tour. I thought it was good tennis. Serena really did a great job fighting and really played a solid tiebreak. She served really well in the tiebreak, which I thought was the difference. In the second set she got better timing off the return and was able to break.

On Lauren Davis’ match…

Lauren competed really well. It is a tough match-up on clay. Sara has so much experience and defends so well and is also very aggressive. I thought there were a few games where Lauren had opportunities where it was deuce or break point. Against a player of that caliber, you have to win those games and then maybe you have a chance. Sara played really well under pressure and those points very well.

On tomorrow’s lineup…

We will regroup tonight and talk about the matchups again and who the possibilities are. Then, we will make the decision who will play.

Tomorrow’s PREVIEW NOTES

The final day of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Playoff between the United States and Italy will take place on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET) in Brindisi, Italy.

Tomorrow, in the case of a 3-1 score after the fourth singles match, the dead doubles match will be played. If the dead doubles match splits sets, then the third set will be a match tiebreak (super tiebreak up to 10 points).

On Sunday, world No. 1 Serena Williams will face Italy’s No. 1 player Sara Errani in the third singles rubber. Williams and Errani have met seven times on the WTA Tour, with Williams winning all seven matches. They last met in the 2014 Rome final on clay, with Williams winning, 6-3, 6-0.

The fourth singles rubber is scheduled to be a matchup between the No. 2 singles players—Lauren Davis and Camila Giorgi. Davis and Giorgi have met three times (once on the WTA Tour and twice on the USTA Pro Circuit) with Davis leading the series 2-1. They played on the WTA Tour in Quebec City in 2013, where Davis won the match, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2. In 2012, the two players met twice on the USTA Pro Circuit ($50,000 events in Dothan, Ala., and Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.), with Giorgi winning in Dothan and Davis winning in Indian Harbour Beach.

The doubles rubber will follow the singles matches, where Alison Riske and Christina McHale are scheduled to face Flavia Pennetta and Karin Knapp. Riske and McHale have never played doubles together. Pennetta and Knapp have played doubles together two times—in the Fed Cup Final versus Russia in 2013 en route to winning the title and in the WTA event in Palermo, Italy, that same year, where they reached the quarterfinals.

The United States Fed Cup Team is 9-6 when a tie is level at 1-1 (since the World Group format was instituted in 1995). Should the U.S. win on Sunday, it will advance to the World Group in 2016 to compete for the Fed Cup championship.

United States TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Tennis Channel will present delayed coverage of Fed Cup on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET. Fed Cup will also be shown live during Center Court between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. ET.

FED CUP SCORE UPDATE

World Group Semifinal

Czech Republic leads France, 2-0

Russia leads Germany, 2-0

World Group Playoff

USA is tied with Italy, 1-1

Netherlands is tied with Australia, 1-1

Poland is tied with Switzerland, 1-1

Canada vs. Romania, TBD

Topics: BNP Paribas World Group, Fed Cup tennis, Italy, Sports, United States

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10sBalls_com says:

April 18, 2015 at 10:43 am

-@FedCup #TENNIS: THE #UnitedStates IS TIED WITH #Italy, 1-1 & MORE TENNIS RESULTS AND QUOTES- http://t.co/t5K4gfyyac #FedCup2015 #FedCup