It was a difficult weekend trying to keep track of all the Fed Cup matches being played in different time zones all over the world. So here is my view of some of the key story lines that took place in the arena of women’s tennis. That is the good, the bad and the ugly from Fed Cup tennis.
Let’s start with what I think are some of the good things that happened this weekend. This weekend saw the return to action of players who had been on the sidelines recently. Petra Kvitova, who had been suffering from tennis burnout, helped the Czech team secure a spot in the final.
While the Russian team saw the withdrawal of Maria Sharapova due to injury, the team was able to include Vera Zvonereva as she tries to work her way back into form after over two years of injury recovery–with a failed attempted return in the middle. The Swiss team welcomed back Martina Hingis after a 17-year absence, and although she really only signed on so she could play doubles, she valiantly played two singles matches and then coached the doubles from the sidelines.
Timea Bacsinszky helped the Swiss team by continuing her good form in 2015, winning both her singles rubbers and teaming up for the doubles win.
The United States was defeated in Italy, with the record books taking a hit as well. Serena Williams superb record in Fed Cup now sits at 16-1 after she won both her singles matches but lost her first-ever Fed Cup rubber in the doubles as she partnered with Alison Riske. Her usual partner, sister Venus, was unable to compete with the team. Riske was in over her head as she and Serena battled top-ranked doubles team Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta.
The good side of tennis was also on display in the form of new young players making great strides for their teams. Lara Arruabarrena of Spain posted two impressive wins in her country’s tie. The 90th-ranked 23-year-old overcame Argentina’s #1 player Paula Ormaechea in three sets to seal the tie. In the Canada-Romania tie there were two performances worth mentioning. In the first rubber 18-year-old World #260 Canadian Francoise Abanda, playing in her second Fed Cup match, defeated the #1 player for the Romanian team–World #33 Irina-Camelia Begu. But Romania also got an inspired win from their youngster, #104-ranked Andreea Mitu, who upset a somewhat erratic and unsteady world #7 Eugenie Bouchard.
The bad side of Fed Cup tennis this busy weekend was evident as qualifying matches were being played for positions in the main draw of the Stuttgart tournament and before critical clay tournaments. The risk of injury was clearly demonstrated by the withdrawal this week of Andrea Petkovic from the tournament in her home country. Svetlana Kuznetzova has also withdrawn from Stuttgart due to an injury she incurred in the same tie. Many players did not make themselves available for team selections including Madison Keys of the USA and Simona Halep of Romania. Perhaps if ranking points were available for Fed Cup matches these players would have played. Other players arrived to play their matches with severe cases of jet lag; in particular Angelique Kerber needed to rest up before she could play a match on the final day.
This write-up would not be complete without the mention of the ugly incident this weekend. Let’s call it the “handshake diss”. As the draw was posted for the matches between Romania and Canada and photos were being taken, Romanian player Alexandra Dulgheru reached out to shake hands with Genie Bouchard. Bouchard disdainfully dismissed the attempt, leaving a somewhat surprised Dulgheru to withdraw her hand. Awkward. The handshake and the incident appeared all over Twitter and YouTube. Unsportsmanlike to say the least. But it appears Dulgheru got the last laugh; after trouncing Bouchard in their rubber, Alexandra took great joy in feigning handshakes with her entire team.
Fed Cup weekend had it all. The thrill of victory for young players notching their first big wins for their countries stand in stark contrast to the tears of defeat shed by Andrea Petkovic after their loss in doubles meant Germany would not make it to the final round.
The end result of all the Fed Cup action this past weekend is that the Czech team will face Russia in the final as Kvitova tries to lead the team to its fifth title. Unfortunately, the momentum the teams gained from this weekend’s wins will have faded by the time the deciding matches get played in November. Let’s just hope that fan interest has not faded as well.
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