Today’s Women’s Feature (4/20) – Fed Cup

Written by: Staff on 19th April 2013

Sony Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Florida

Today's Women's Feature (4/20) - Fed Cup

epa03634932 Flavia Pennetta of Italy returns the ball to Serena Williams of the US during a second round match at the Sony Open tennis tournament in Miami, Florida, USA, 21 March 2013. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER |

Women’s Look Forward: Fed Cup

Now here’s an odd idea: Suppose that, instead of four singles matches and a doubles match, Fed Cup involved four doubles matches and a singles match?

If that were the case, they could probably just hand the cup to Italy right now. Because their team has the world’s #1 doubles player (Roberta Vinci), the #2 doubles player who was #1 until her partner passed her (Sara Errani), and a third one-time doubles #1 (Flavia Pennetta). And that lineup also includes a Top Ten singles player (Errani) and the world’s #12 singles player (Vinci) — plus a one-time French Open winner (Francesca Schiavone, although she seems pretty used up these days).

But, of course, Fed Cup has four singles matches, not four doubles matches, and that changes the equation for when the Italians host the Czech Republic (the team which eliminated them last year). Nonetheless, the Italian strategy is still bound to be “Play Errani and Vinci as much as possible.” The Czechs… had more questions. Obviously they would play Petra Kvitova at #1 singles. Which of course raises the question of which Kvitova would show up? The one who had led them to back-to-back Cup titles, or the collapsing version we’ve seen too much of in the last year?

The other question, for the Czechs, was who to put at #2. Their choices were Klara Zakopalova or Lucie Safarova. Zakopalova is currently higher ranked, but Safarova has more experience and more big results. Interestingly, the initial team lineup included Zakopalova, but when the final teams were announced, Zakopalova was out and Andrea Hlavackova was on the team. And that indirectly influenced the doubles as well. Lucie Hradecka would have one spot, but it wasn’t clear who her partner would be until Hlavackova was named. And, with Zakopalova out, Safarova will be the #2 singles player.

The Slovaks, who will be visiting Moscow, are in almost the same situation as their ex-countrywomen the Czechs. They know who will be at #1 singles; that’s Dominika Cibulkova. But should they play Magdalena Rybarikova or Daniela Hantuchova at #2? Rybarikova is currently ranked much higher, but Hantuchova has the experience. On the gripping hand, Hantuchova doesn’t like clay much. And they do have to pick a doubles team. Hantuchova is pretty clearly the top choice there, and since the fourth member of the team is inexperienced Jana Cepelova, we’d guess Hantuchova will play with Cibulkova if the tie is live.

In the end, the Slovaks chose Hantuchova for #2 singles and are listing Rybarikova/Cepelova in doubles. Don’t bet on that.

The Russian hosts have a much easier time: They will go with Maria Kirilenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in singles, with Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in doubles. If a singles player goes down, Makarova will presumably get the spot; if a doubles player is unable to play, it will probably be Kirilenko who replaces her. It’s a far cry from the powerhouse Russian teams of past years — if the Russians make the final, we’d bet on either Italy or the Czechs to win the Cup — but we’d call the Russians the favorites in the semifinal.

Serbia, which is in the world group playoff against Germany, has some good news: They have Ana Ivanovic back. But they don’t have Jelena Jankovic, meaning Bojana Jovanovski is their #2 singles player, and they really have no “bench”; the rest of the team is Vesna Dolonc and Aleksandra Krunic (listed for doubles, but that will surely change if the tie is still live). The other good news for the Serbs is that the German hosts are in some disarray. Their #1, Angelique Kerber, is struggling. Julia Goerges is missing. Their other most experienced singles player, Sabine Lisicki, is in a terrible slump. That means that they will likely rely on Mona Barthel for #2 singles. In doubles, it’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld and… someone. Right now, the Germans are saying Lisicki.

With Stefanie Voegele on the hottest streak of her career and Romina Oprandi now playing for them, the Swiss team is perhaps stronger than it has been since the time Martina Hingis quit playing Fed Cup. But they have no depth; the rest of the team is Timea Bacsinszky and Amra Sadikovic. And they’re hosting Australia. If Samantha Stosur can play, Australia will be heavily favored. Without her, Australia’s lineup is Casey Dellacqua, Ashleigh Barty, and Jarmila Gajdosova. Not so good…. Right now, Stosur is listed at #1 singles and Gajdosova #2.

Even if you ignore the clay, Spain’s team of Carla Suarez Navarro, Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Silvia Soler-Espinosa, and Anabel Medina Garrigues (who replaced Lara Arruabarrena at the last minute) is stronger than Japan’s team of Ayumi Morita, Misaki Doi, Kurumi Nara, and doubles specialist Shuko Aoyama (no, no Kimiko Date-Krumm — Aoyama will play doubles with Morita). Throw in the clay and that looks like a blitz….

The Americans are supposed to have Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams, and Varvara Lepchenko. The Swedes are supposed to have their usual lineup of Sofia Arvidsson, Johanna Larsson, and two nobodies. ‘Nuff said.

In World Group II, Kirsten Flipkens did agree to play for Belgium, but they don’t have Yanina Wickmayer, so it’s pretty much a one-woman team. Against a Polish lineup with both Radwanskas, plus Alicja Rosolska for doubles, that looks pretty dull.

It’s hard to believe that France is struggling to stay in Group II. Of course, if they really get Marion Bartoli and Alize Cornet to play, they ought to be able to handle Kazakhstan’s team of Yaroslava Shvedova, Galina Voskoboeva, .Ksenia Pervak, and Sesil Karatancheva (with Shvedova and Voskoboeva listed as playing both singles and doubles). But the French thought they had Bartoli last time — and they didn’t.

The top female players are older these days than they used to be. (Well, we all are, but the point is, the average age of the players at the top of the sport has been increasing.) But you wouldn’t know it from looking at the tie between Ukraine and Canada. Canada’s team is headed by 19-year-old Eugenie Bouchard, and the Ukrainian #2 is 19-year-old Elina Svitolina. Lesia Tsurenko leads the Ukrainians; Sharon Fichman is the Canadian #2. Hard to guess how that will turn out.

Argentina has no player on their team ranked above #140. The British have Laura Robson. The Argentines have clay. Tough to call…. Robson and Johanna Konta will play singles for Britain (after all the talk about Elena Baltacha’s return, she isn’t even listed in the doubles), Paula Ormaechea and Florencia Molinero for Argentina.